Together or Alone?
by cyber viper42
Summary: Naruto and Kyuubi work togeather to help Naruto survive his harsh life in Konoha. Will he live alone in misery or will he find friends and grow strong to protect them. M for safty. Fem Kyuubi, unknown pairings.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

**This is my second Naruto fanfic and is more for practice than anything else. Never the less, I still hope that you will like this story, as I wish to bring new elements to the world of Naruto fanfiction.**

**I strongly encourage everyone to read my other Naruto fanfic, A Second Chance. Although it has a completely different plot, I think everyone will enjoy it.**

**All I can ask for is a nice review from every reader, so I would like to say….**

**READ AND REVIEW!!!!!!**

**Enjoy!**

"Normal speech"

_Thoughts_

**Biju speech**

_**Biju thoughts**_

Chapter 1: First Meetings

Namikaze Minato stood upon Gammabunta's head, holding a newly born child in his hands. His child. His Naruto forever destined to hold a terrible burden. One that he never asked for, and one he could never shed without untold destruction. Konoha's Yellow Flash sighed as he looked at his sleeping Naruto. His son; his last remaining relative on the face of the earth…and soon to be an orphan. Tears welled in the Hokage's eyes at the thought of his beloved wife. She had died in his arms less than ten minutes ago in the hospital. She had died in childbirth, the strain of being a ninja combined with giving birth proved too much for his beloved.

"Forgive me my son." Minato begged softly. "Because of me, your life will be difficult. The village may not love you as I wish you would be as my son. Only time will tell. I'm sorry I can't live to see you grow up, to be happy, to laugh, to play, to cry, to succeed." A tear trickled down his face and splashed upon Naruto's brow. "I'm sorry Naruto." The great leader of Konoha slowly lowered his head and kissed Naruto where his tear had landed. "May you grow up to be strong, wise and loved. My you find happiness in many things and succeed in your life." His words were soft yet painfully spoken. There was weight behind his blessing. The blessing a father gives his son before sending him off into the world to forge his own path. He held the bundle of cloth tighter to his chest before forcing himself to look up.

Almost immediately, the sounds of battle returned to his ears. He had blocked out the din of battle to focus solely on his son. Less than a mile away, the Kyuubi no Yoko stood thrashing at Konoha ninja as they attempted to stop the fox demon's path of destruction. To keep their village safe they would make the ultimate sacrifice. Minato paused for a moment as he placed Naruto gently in between his feet, clamping the newborn firmly in place. He couldn't hold this off any longer. He knew that it was only a matter of time before the demon slaughtered every last Leaf Shinobi and attacked the village.

He slowly and carefully formed seal after seal, stringing them together in a long and complex chain, weaving a powerful jutsu out of his chakra. Gradually the pale unearthly shadow of the Death god came into being, hovering behind him, its fearsome sight unseen to everyone on the battlefield. "Goodbye Naruto…" Namikaze Minato felt the cold, death-like spectral hand reach through him as the Death god stretched its arm out through Minato and towards the rampaging biju. As soon as its arm reached its target, the Nine-Tailed Fox froze. A blinding light filled the ravaged war zone as Minato directed the Kyuubi's form into his son. Almost instantly the demon was gone, and on Naruto's belly a swirl seal formed as black as the midnight sky.

"Demon, if you can hear this, know that you will never escape." The Fourth Hokage coughed as the Death god moved in to claim its payment. "Aid my son in becoming the best person he can be." His voice weakened as life began to leave his body. "Teach him how to be strong, guide him to be a person of honor and courage." Minato was on his final reserves; the force of the Death god couldn't be delayed for long. "Help him learn my jutsu and become even greater than I." With his dying breath, NamikazeMinato managed to whisper. "I…Love…You…" He couldn't hold out any longer. With a savage yank, the Death god pulled Minato's spirit from his body and ate it, slowly disappearing into nothing as he swallowed.

With the death of his summoner, Gammabunta knew he couldn't stay long. With long, powerful hops, he carried his precious passengers back to Konoha, to the North gate opposite from the Hokage Mountain. His tongue snaked up to his head and gently wrapped around the body of Minato and the now crying Naruto. He lifted them off and slowly placed them at the feet of an old ninja, one who had seen countless battles and had come through victoriously. "IT IS DONE." He boomed in a pained and sad voice. "TAKE CARE OF HIM." With that, he disappeared in a large could of smoke which quickly disappeared.

Saratobi looked at the two forms at his feet. One living, the other dead. Sadly, the former Hokage of Konoha made a single shadow clone that picked up Minato's body, while he bent over and picked up the still crying bundle containing Naruto. He gazed at the newborn child in wonder and sheer amazement. Naruto had three long, thin scars on each cheek. They looked like whiskers. They were red and slanted upwards, tapered at both ends making them look streamlined. Surprisingly the scars fit the boys face perfectly. They were neither too long, nor too short. They complemented his visage to the point where they looked as if they _belonged_ there.

The Third shook his head. Naruto's burden would affect his life forever. Foster parents were an unlikely bet; no one would want the prisoner of the Kyuubi in their homes. The people would live in constant fear of the boy, knowing what was sealed inside him. There was no chance for the village to not find out what Naruto held. The death of the well liked and adored Fourth would need a thorough explanation. Nothing could be withheld as the villagers would without a doubt demand an explanation. The aged man sighed again as the mournful faces of the villagers began to emerge from their houses, hearing the terrible sounds of battle cease. Individuals wept at the sight of NamikazeMinato dead in the arms of the Third.

Saratobi made his way through the streets of Konoha to the Hokage's mansion where he handed his successor's body to a small group of ninja specifically summoned to prepare their fallen leader's body for the grave. Wrapped in his bundle of cloth, a now sleeping Naruto lay unnoticed by the crowds and the ninja. The Third slowly made his way to the Hokage's office where he closed the door and examined Minato's last work. On top of the desk lay a scroll with hastily written but neat script. Saratobi sat down slowly in the chair behind the desk and picked up the document with one hand, the other keeping Naruto on his lap.

_Saratobi-sama,_

_If you are reading these words, then you know I am dead and the Kyuubi is sealed inside my child. I'm about to head to the hospital now, but I need to write out my last testament for my child's sake. I know not whether it is a boy or a girl, but that doesn't matter. All I want is for him or her to grow up knowing how to live honorably and courageously. I would rather have lived out this battle to see my child's future. I know that his or her life without me will be difficult. _

_The medics informed me that there is a strong chance that Kushina will die from childbirth. They told me that the strains of giving birth are intense as it is, but her life as a shinobi may have pushed her body too far. If…if she is to die, then I wish for my son to be brought up in as loving an environment as possible. I know that you cannot take him in with more than likely your reinstatement as Hokage, but I beg that you find him a suitable home and watch out for him, as he grows older. Kushina and I decided that if we died, he would have the name Uzumaki Naruto. If he held my name, he would attract far too many of my enemies. When he reaches a mature age, please tell him who his parents were. Growing up without even knowing who his parents were will be tough, but it is for his own protection. _

_Signed: NamikazeMinato_

Saratobi couldn't help but let a few tears roll down his face as he finished reading Minato's will and letter. "I will do as you ask Minato." He whispered resolutely. "I promise you that." The aged Hokage placed the letter on the desk and resumed to shift through the other letters and documents. Most scrolls were about sealing techniques, which Minato had pulled out of storage in an attempt to find something to use against the Kyuubi. Amid the jumbles of the scrolls, the Third was able to find mission reports and team assignments. Those he piled on the floor in order of mission rank, placing the S and A class missions closest to his desk, while leaving the lower B, C, and D class missions over to one side of the office.

The bane of the Kages seemed to be…paperwork. Nothing was more time consuming, nerve-racking, tedious, and hated in the Kage's line of duty. The most powerful shinobi of the hidden villages were stuck in their respective villages, doing paperwork, not missions, paperwork. Saratobi sighed as he gently picked up Naruto. The infant would need a wet nurse. With the number of shinobi killed in the attack, the orphanages would be admitting more children. More children meant an easier time slipping Naruto into the organization without unneeded attention. The old shinobi sighed as he exited the office. He was going to have to retake the title of Hokage. He was going to have to rebuild Konoha to its former strength. He was going to have to deal with Naruto.

Not surprisingly the streets of the Hidden Leaf were packed with civilians and ninja alike, all of them trying to help the wounded to the hospital. Konoha's renowned medical teams would have to come through for the village yet again as the wounded continued to flood into the gates. No one seemed to notice the Hokage suddenly henge into civilian and mingle into the crowd. He was hidden as a middle-aged man with scars on his face, obviously a laborer, with brown hair, brown eyes, and plain clothes. Nothing stood out about him except for the sleeping infant in his arms.

When he arrived at the most hospitable and well-known orphanage in Konoha, he acted confused and slightly on edge. "Um…excuse me?" his voice was deep and commanding and instantly got the attention of an aid.

"Can I help you?" She asked in a kind voice, one that exuded calmness and peace. She had been around children long enough to learn how to ease them back to sleep or calm their fears, however strong they might be.

"Um…I was told to bring this child here." The Hokage's henged voice said with some uncertainty. "He was a ninja who was leaving for battle."

"That's understandable." The aid replied. "Did he say who he was?"

"No, but he said his son's name was Uzumaki Naruto." Saratobi replied, his false voice slowly gaining confidence. "He said that if he survived, he would come to reclaim his son here, so here I am."

"Very well." The aid said with a sigh. "With such an intense attack, we are literally over flowing with new orphans." Naruto started to cry that moment. "I guess he is hungry." She looked at the man and said "I'll take him from here. Thank you for bringing him, and if you see the man, tell him where his son it."

"I will." Saratobi replied, knowing full well that Minato would never come. He walked out of the orphanage and into the streets. He released his henge and readied himself to face the tack at hand.

-Five Years Go By-

Naruto was running as fast as his little legs would carry him. Behind him, and angry crowd was chasing him, throwing all manner of projectiles at the poor blonde boy. Ducking into an alleyway, Naruto desperately hopped that he could escape in the narrow confines between the two story buildings. Unfortunately for him, it was a dead end. He was never going to escape now. Desperate, he huddled into a shadow as best he could. In the late afternoon sun, the towering building prevented the sunlight from reaching the pavement, creating an artificial twilight. Only five of the mob decided to brave the dark and smelly alley to search for their prey.

"Come out _DEMON._" One said in a sickening singsong voice, mocking the terrified Naruto. "Come out and _DIE!!_" Naruto couldn't help but huddle closer to the alley wall, partially hidden by a dumpster. His arms were wrapped around his knees, which were tucked into his chest. Naruto was small, but his blond hair and lack of objects to hide behind didn't aid in his hiding. Even in the artificial twilight, he would be completely visible if the villagers only edged a _little_ further down the alley. He shivered in the crisp October air.

For some reason, they stopped and abruptly turned around and left the alleyway. A teenage boy wearing a ninja outfit, complete with a hitai-ate, dropped from the rooftop and landed next to the small five-year-old. "You…save…me?" Naruto asked, struggling for words. Even though he was a five, his vocabulary wasn't stellar. Being called 'monster' and 'demon' all his miserable and lonesome life didn't help him build his speech.  
"Why do you think I tricked them into leaving you unharmed?" He asked with a grin on his face.

"I…no…know." Naruto replied, stuttering just like the first time.

"So I can kill you now _DEMON!_" The teenager slowly drew a kunai from his weapons pouch. "This is for my parents whom you KILLED!" The boy drew back his arm.

"**DUCK AND ROLE!"** Naruto heard a women's voice cry out. He immediately did as the voice commanded, but was too slow. The ninja plunged the gleaming black kunai into Naruto's heart…or he would have if Naruto hadn't started to move. Instead he stabbed right through the young blonde's rib cage and right lung, causing Naruto to scream in pain. The primal cry was enough to make all but the hardened veteran flinch. It was filled with pain and anguish beyond comprehension.

The teenage shinobi swore shamelessly as he missed the heart of his parent's killer. Naruto coughed up blood as he tried to gasp in shock and pain. More blood trickled down his cheek as it leaked from the corner of his mouth. His now torn shirt was soaked in thick red blood that flowed from the hole in his chest. The ninja would have continued his assault if it were not for several other leaf shinobi and civilians coming to investigate. Hastily, he withdrew his weapon from Naruto's chest and leapt out of the alleyway, leaping from rooftop to rooftop to flee the scene of his cruel assault.

Reality for five-year-old Naruto was different from the bloodied mess the villagers found. Although the boy was still alive, he seemed to be unconscious, not surprising considering the amount of pain and blood loss the kid was suffering. Reality for Naruto was damp and dark. He fearful eyes glanced from side to side, seeking something, anything that could tell him where he was. He heard a rumble to his left and glanced in that direction. Although his appeared to be in a tunnel of some sort, with a few inches of water at the base, a red glow seemed to emanate from the side tunnel.

"Who there?" He asked in a frightened and subdued voice. He heard nothing in reply, so he stood up and walked towards the light with one hand on the tunnel wall for guidance and support. He walked for only twenty of thirty steps before a huge chamber opened up before him. The young Naruto couldn't help but gaze upwards in awe of the immense height. After a moment he leveled his gaze at an immense gate in front of him. It's thick iron bars were square and allowed Naruto's curious head to pear inside the cage.

"**Naru-kun."** Crooned the women's voice again.

"Where…you?" Naruto asked confused by not being able to see whoever was talking to him. "Why I no see?"

"**I'm right in front of you Naru-kun." **The voice said again. **"Do you wish to see me?"** It was calm and soothing almost tender as the voice spoke to the small blonde.

"Yes!" Naruto replied almost instantly. "I want see you." He said in his little kid's voice.

Behind the bars of the gate, an immense form materialized. Red eyes slowly opened and a halo of red light illuminated the voice's owner. Naruto yelped and scrambled away from the large creature behind the gate. **"I will not hurt you Naru-kun."** The creature said softly and comfortingly.

"Who you?" Naruto asked in his broken speech, but still able to convey his question.

"**I am Kyuubi no Kitsune."** The red creature replied. **"I am the Nine-Tailed Fox."**

"Nine-Tails bad." Naruto said automatically. "All say so."

"**Not everyone knows who I am."** The Kyuubi replied.

"You girl?" Naruto asked curiously as he listened to the female voice resounding through the cavern.

"**Yes, silly. I'm a girl." **The Kyuubi answered, grinning and revealing a row of flashing white teeth that seemed threatening to the small boy who scurried away further. **"You may call me Kyu-chan."**

"Kyu-chan?" Naruto half asked and half stated. "That you? Why you here? Where here?" Naruto's rapid-fire, scared questions assaulted the Kyuubi in a sudden barrage.

"**One: yes, the creature you see is me."** The Kyuubi replied.** "Two: I'm here because I'm in your mind. Three: This is your mind."**

"My head?" Naruto asked unsure of what the Kyuubi referred to.

"**Yes, your head and your mind. The place where you think." **The Kyuubi replied. **"You're asleep right now, that's why I can talk with you."**

"I sleep?" Naruto asked confused. He was obviously awake. How could he be talking if he was sleeping?

"**It's hard to explain."** The Kyuubi said softly. **"Don't worry. I'm here to protect you."**

"You keep me safe from bad people?" Naruto asked finally able to make a complete sentence.

"**Yes I will." **She replied. **"I will help you get strong and grow."**

"How?" Naruto asked. "How you do that if you in my head?"

"**I can tell you how."** The nine-tailed vixen replied. **"Now it is time for you to wake up so you can get strong."**

Naruto was about to protest, but the scene before his eyes faded to black, letting him fall to sleep.

Naruto woke up slowly. At first he heard a constant, steady electronic beep. The next thing he noticed was that he felt warm, yet something soft and silky was rubbing over his bare skin as he moved. The final sense that activated was his smell. The sterile smell of a hospital filled his nostrils. Groaning, he rolled over, but found something holding him back. His eyes opened slowly. A harsh white light overhead made him squint until his eyes could adjust.

He turned his head and saw wires running from his body to a box on a cart. A soft glowing square monitor showed graphs and tables full of data that the five-year-old couldn't make heads or tails of (pun intended). He weakly tried to sit up, but again, the wires restricted his movements. He felt something rough rub gently against his skin as he bent his torso slightly. He looked down and saw that the right side of his chest was bandaged tightly with a long pure white strip of cloth. Almost immediately as he lay back down, fingering his bandage, a nurse slid open his door and stepped inside.

Naruto clamped his eyes closed and pretended to be asleep, but the machine, which the nurse examined, measured his increased heart rate and gave him away. "It's okay." She said softly as she turned to stroke his spiky blond hair with one hand, the other scribbling something illegible onto a piece of paper on her clipboard. "You're safe here." She played with his hair almost absent-mindedly as she continued to examine instruments and other readouts. "You took quite a blow. We were surprised when you began to show signs of recovery even before we healed you up."

Naruto was completely relaxed in his bed. The nurse's stroking and playing with his hair had left him in a semi-hypnotized state. He was…comfortable. For the first time in his miserable life, he was comfortable. He relaxed and let his eyelids droop down. He yawned and fell back asleep. The nurse smiled at this and finally pulled her hand from his hair as gently as she could. She scribbled another note onto her papers and then left the room as quietly as she could.

-Two Later-

"**Naru-kun!"** The Kyuubi's voice rang out, pulling Naruto from his slumber and into the waking world. He glanced around his hospital room and saw he was disconnected from the machine. It was in the corner of the room opposite from the bed and powered down.

"What is it?" Naruto asked aloud.

"**Think your words and I'll bear them. You should know that by now." **Her voice was comforting and yet concerned at the same time.

_Oh right. _Naruto replied. _Sorry I forgot._

"**Obviously."** The vixen said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. In the past two years Naruto's speech had improved dramatically, thanks to the tireless work of the nine-tailed fox sealed inside him. Already she had started to train him to become stronger. He was currently learning how to access and manipulate his chakra. Things like hand seals and jutsus were out of the question; the Kyuubi didn't know them. To compensate for that loss of training, she made an extra effort to help him with his physical conditioning. For a seven year old, Naruto was strong. He constantly was lifting and carrying rocks around one of the lighter sections of forest surrounding the village itself.

Under the vixen's careful eye he set to building small forts to which he could escape to if he needed. They were carefully hidden among the foliage and were almost invisible to the naked eye. Having to drag and carry moderately heavy loads gradually increased Naruto's strength and conditioning. When he first started, even the smaller of rocks proved challenging for him to transport even a few meters. Now he was pulling long branches through the woods (its tougher than it sounds—you try it), to quicken the building process and add some camouflage to his hideouts.

All his alcoves were watertight and stocked with small amounts of non-perishable food. If he needed to, he could close himself into one and remain there for nearly a two days before needing to replenish his water, and food supplies. An unrealized boon of spending so much time in the training areas of a shinobi village, was finding discarded kunai and shuriken. Although he didn't know how to use them, he still stockpiled the ones the Kyuubi thought were in reasonable condition. The rest he sold as scrap to a local smith, named Daren, who gladly took the stiff metals off of Naruto's hands for both money and sometimes a blanket or another useful item.

Even though little Naruto made incredible efforts to keep well fed, the amount of food he could buy with his pitiful income was negligible compared with the nutrition he needed. There were times when he could have sworn that a lady behind him in line was charged a quarter what some shop owners charged him, but he never complained. That surprised the Kyuubi the most about her host. No matter what they did to him, Naruto wouldn't cross the villagers. It was impressed upon him very early on that everyone hated him for some unknown and hidden reason. No matter what he said, no matter how flawless his logic, he was still discriminated and ostracized.

To say the least, he was in a rough situation almost every day. Whether it was a mob of villagers, or a lone ninja or two, he was harassed and beaten on a regular basis. He could try to hide and use a different route every day, but they still found him. Despite this, the pair couldn't look at it as anything but training. The more poundings he took, the tougher he would get. His new muscles helped reduce some internal damage, but even they were not enough. The Kyuubi was constantly using her chakra to heal her host's body after nearly each beating. To the villagers, this was just another sign that he really was a demon. No matter what they threw at him, he always ventured back into the town the next day, never seeming to be in pain from his injuries the previous day.

Groaning Naruto slid upright in the bed, still partially covered by the bed sheets. He yawned and raised his arms over his head to stretch. The tightness in his side alerted him to a fresh bandage wrapped around his torso. The previous morning he had been ambushed by two particularly cruel ninja. Even after slicing him up with kunai and shuriken from a distance, they had kicked him in the side when he was immobile on the ground.

He grimaced at the memory of the pain he had felt as ten of his ribs shattered under their blows. If it wasn't for the vixen sealed inside him he knew he would be dead. Her power to heal his body almost instantly had kept his internal organs from bursting and instantly killing him. If it weren't for a patrolling ANBU, he would have been too injured to continue living. Cuts and scrapes were one thing to heal, but broken bones and shattered ribs were a completely different level. Even his partner couldn't heal those quickly.

As if the room was bugged to let the nurse know he was awake, his nurse opened the door and stepped inside. She was the same one for all his trips to the hospital. No one else came in to check on him. She was the only one. She had deep blue hair that fell to her shoulders. Her face was soft and warm, it helped comfort Naruto when he was terrified of something or needed a kind face after enduring years of angry glares. Her mother's touch helped Naruto trust her the most. She seemed to know exactly how to stroke his hair or touch him in a comforting manner. (Don't get ideas Jiraiya)

Despite all her care and lack of ill will, Naruto still found himself not completely trusting her. Years of abuse left him as a cornered animal, not trusting, always suspicious. The animalistic ways of the Kyuubi made him act more like one in turn.

He was broken from his train of thought as she spoke. "You're all set." Naruto looked at her. "Your bones seem to be healing incredibly quickly. All you have to do is keep that bandage on for a few days for everything to completely heal."

Naruto nodded in understanding. "Thank you." He mumbled as he sat up straighter.

She smiled at his words. "You are quite welcome Naruto. But please, for your sake, don't go looking for fights. You're always getting hurt."

"Its not like I'm trying to find a fight." Naruto replied sullenly. "_They_ come looking for me." Both of them knew who 'They' was—all the villagers and a portion of the ninja population hated him for what he contained.

"Well, try to take it easy for a few days." She said, laying his clothes at the foot of the bed. "You're free to go. You've recovered sufficiently to make your way home and rest."

"Thanks for everything!" Naruto called after the nurse as she left the room smiling. Quickly he stripped off his hospital clothes and slipped into his own patched but intact clothes. He slipped out of the hospital and successfully made it to one of his many hide outs. Once inside he relaxed and flopped down on the ground, careful to keep his ribs from screaming in protest.

"**Careful."** The Kyuubi warned. **"You aren't healed all the way yet. You need to rest for a while."**

_But I'll need to get food by noon tomorrow._ Naruto complained. _I'll need to move about._

"**Didn't you listen to a word that your nurse said to you?"** she asked. **"She said to not strain yourself for several days." **She paused to contemplate their situation. **"I'll have to think of something to help you out."**

_But what about food?_ Naruto asked.

"**You certainly have a one-track mind. You know that?" **The Kyuubi asked, mussing about what to do.

_Food is important. _Naruto retorted. _I need food to survive._

"**You might be able to summon me." **The Kyuubi said after a minute of ignoring Naruto's protests and rants about food.

_How would that help me? _Naruto asked. _You're hundreds of feet tall and will attract a bit of attention._

"**Baka!" **She shouted, smashing her many tails into the water in her cage. **"I'm incredibly powerful. The only reason why I'm big is because of all the power I have. If you were to limit the amount of chakra that leaks out, I could assume any size needed."**

_If this was possible, why didn't you make me summon you when you first started to talk with me?_ Naruto asked, slightly betrayed by the vixen's apparent lack of consideration.

"**Back then you didn't have the strength to do didily squat."** She said, offended by the blonde's accusation that she, the Kyuubi no Kitsune, would betray someone. **"Now, only after all your training, might you be ready for this."**

_Alright…_ Naruto replied, slightly forgiving the fox. _So how do I do it?_

"**I haven't gotten that far yet…"**__She confessed. Naruto sweat dropped at this.

_Then why mention it if you don't know how it would be done?_ Naruto asked.

"**I'm sorry," **She replied. **"But I could teach you how to bring the big version of me out. I'm only working on the size control right now."**

_How long have you been working on this?_ Naruto asked.

"**Shhh!!"** She hushed him**. "About five minutes and I'm almost done, so stay quiet!"** The blonde could hear the Kyuubi's mutterings and after another five minutes she finally spoke. **"Alright, I've got it."**

_Finally! Took you long enough!_ Naruto exclaimed with mock exasperation.

**"You try figuring out something this complex in ten minutes."** She retorted. **"All you have to do is hold your hands in this position."** She pulled Naruto into his subconscious in front of her cage. She used her forepaws to show Naruto the hand seal.

"I though you didn't know any hand seals." Naruto's voice rang out and echoed around the chamber.

**"I don't."** She replied. **"That's why I invented this one."**

Naruto blinked, taken aback by her words. "You…created a hand seal?" Naruto tried to take in the magnitude of those words. "I thought that was impossible."

The Kyuubi sighed. **"Hand seals are used to manipulate your chakra without having to concentrate hard. In reality, you don't need the hand seals to perform a jutsu if you know exactly how you need to mold and manipulate your chakra."** She explained to him how most of the time, shinobi used hand seals to make forming the jutsu easier and more effective. **"You could learn how to summon me into any size you want, but that would take years to learn and then many more years to master. Instead, this hand seal will allow you to mold your chakra and only have to concentrate on the flow. The flow determines my size."**

Naruto tried to form the complicated hand seal in the Kyuubi's presence before he got it down correctly. Looking at the seal, he realized that it looked like a tent. He interlocked all his fingers except his index and middle fingers, which he crossed to form a 'V.' Pulling out of his subconscious, he practices forming the seal a few more times. On his forth try he let an inkling of the Kyuubi's chakra through the seal. With a 'poof' an incredibly small fox stood in front of Naruto.

**"A little more chakra next time."** She said in Naruto's mind.

Naruto nodded and released the new jutsu. The Kyuubi disappeared in a second 'poof' of smoke. _All right, how much more chakra would you recommend?_ The blond by asked.

**"Maybe twice as much."** The vixen replied. **"I'd like to be the size of a normal fox."**

_Alright. _Naruto replied as he performed the jutsu again. When the smoke cleared this time, the Kyuubi sat blinking at Naruto. She was about three feet long, with a single tail swinging behind her.

"I thought that you had nine tails." Naruto stated.

**"The more power I have, the more tails I will grow."** She replied. **"With the pitiful amount of chakra you let me have, this is the biggest I can grow with the most tails possible."**

"So you could have nine tails worth of power while still being that size?" Naruto asked.

**"Yes, but the power would undoubtedly bring shinobi running from miles to investigate."** She sighed. She would love to be roaming the plains and feeling the air run through her fur, but instead she was trapped inside a small, human boy. **"The kind of power I possess cannot be hidden or masked. There is simply too much."**

"Oh…Alright." Naruto said. "So are you going to get food or something?"

**"I was just heading out." **The vixen replied as she bound out the entrance and disappeared into the underbrush around the hide out. Naruto looked out trying to see the red fox through the dense foliage but to no avail. Sighing he settled into a slight depression in the ground that he fit in perfectly.

Without anything else to do, Naruto picked up one of his many kunai and began to whittle a short stick. It was one of his habits that he fell into when he needed to think or simply pass the time. Now was just time to be wasted. With his Kyu-chan out hunting or doing something to gather some food, all the little blonde seven year old could do was to wait for her return. He whittled and whittled, not really paying attention to what he was doing with his hands, completely on auto pilot. He heard a twig snap out side and then another. _Kyu-chan where are you?_

**"I'm stalking a rabbit. Shhh." **She replied from her location not too far away.

_There's someone near me on the outside._ Naruto said with worry creeping into his voice.

_**Shit…**_**"I'll be there as fast as I can be." **The Kyuubi said, leaping from her hiding spot, scaring the rabbit half to death, and bolting back towards the hideout. _**You'd better be alright when I get there…**_

**Alright, a little cliff hanger, but I needed something to beak off this chapter so I could post. Don't expect me to update quickly. It's hard to write this much for a regular schedule. **

**Please leave me a review and PLEASE, PLEASE read my other Naruto fanfic, A Second Chance.**

**Almost 6,000 words =)**

**~Cyberviper42~**


	2. Chapter 2

**Alright everybody, time for an amazing new chapter for Together or Alone!!!**

**I know that everyone enjoyed the last chapter, but for all those of you who simply read the chapter and don't leave a review…**

**PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!!!**

**I know that some people have noticed a lack of reasoning for the Kyuubi helping Naruto. This isn't a mistake. I purposely left that out from the beginning so I can have some character and plot development.**

**Without further to do…ladies and gentlemen…Chapter 2…enjoy.**

"Normal speech"

_Thoughts_

**Biju speech**

_**Biju thoughts**_

Chapter 2: Friends and Allies

Naruto snapped to attention when he heard the twigs snap as people drew nearer to his hideout. Almost immediately, he dropped the stick he was whittling, and grasped the hilt of the kunai in a firm grip. He crawled to the far side of his hide out, farthest away from the entrance and waited with nervous excitement. His ribs screamed in protest as he bumped ever so slightly against the wall of his abode.

Naruto could hear voices now, as the snapping grew closer. Even through his walls the voices could be heard with some clarity. "Hinata-chan. Your father doesn't like it when you leave on your own." The kind women's voice struck a chord with the blonde Jinchuuriki. She sounded like a kind mother.

"Hai, okasan." Squeaked a small and timid voice of a girl around Naruto's age. Her voice had not yet developed and was still as small as she was. "Should I try to use my Byakugan?"

"Why not?" The older women replied. "It would make father proud if you improved your abilities with it." Naruto heard a shuffling in front of the entrance of his hide out. Timidly, he crawled to the entrance and peered out to see to whom the voices belonged to. There were two people standing a mere three meters from his door. The smaller one, who looked to be exactly his age, had her hands clasped together in front of her.

"Byakugan!" she cried and startled Naruto. Her eyes seemed to suddenly bulge out of her head. Upon further examination from Naruto's hiding place, he realized that it was the veins around her eyes that had bulged out. When she turned slightly in Naruto's direction, he could see that her eyes were pale lavender, almost completely white. He gasped slightly, attracting the attention of the older woman. She started to walk towards Naruto's position when the Kyuubi burst out of the under growth and slid to a stop in front of Naruto and the entrance.

Naruto was relieved at the sight of his foxy companion, but he was still scared of the two human females neigh a meter from his hidden location. The younger girl, who Naruto remembered the older woman calling her Hinata, turned to look at the Kyuubi who was just in front of Naruto. Suddenly she gasped as she noticed Naruto hiding in his living space. Her Byakugan enabled her to pierce through the walls and see the young blonde crouching my the entrance. "Okasan, there's someone in there." She flashed behind the older woman and peered out from behind her legs. She pointed at the foliage slightly behind a slightly growling Kyuubi.

"Are you sure?" The older woman asked, not taking her eyes of the fox.

"Hai." Hinata replied. "A boy…his chakra coils are highly developed for someone our age."

_How does she know where I am?_ Naruto asked the Kyuubi.

"**She has the Byakugan, its one of the Konoha clan bloodlines."** The Kyuubi replied. **"With the training she has had with it, it's no surprise that she saw you."**

_Should I step out Kyu-chan?_ Naruto asked his vixen companion. _They already know I'm here._

"**Staying hidden no longer holds a tactical advantage."** She replied. **"Just make sure you're armed and ready to run.**"Naruto stepped out like the Kyuubi suggested, holding his kunai in a defensive position. The weapon surprised both females, but only Hinata showed it.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked, his nervousness clearly evident in his wavering voice. "What are you doing here?" The Kyuubi moved to stand next to Naruto, still weary of the females, but ready to fight none the less.

"I am Hyuuga Hinata." Hinata squeaked from behind the older women.

"And I am her mother." The older woman said. "Now who are you?"

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto replied quietly. The Hyuuga standing in front of him barely heard him, but were able to decipher what he said.

"It's nice to meet you Naruto-kun." Hinata's mother said. "Why are you out here?"

"I'm hiding from the villagers." Naruto replied truthfully, looking incredibly wary of the two near him.

"**Careful…"** Cautioned the Kyuubi as she tensed, ready for whatever reaction the Hyuuga might have.

"Why are you hiding from them?" Hinata asked. "Are you playing a game?"

"No, they like to hurt me real bad." Naruto said in a hushed voice.

"What have they done to you?" Hinata's mother asked in concern.

"Well from what the nurse said this morning, I have six broken ribs, and something called a concussion." Naruto answered the woman. Almost immediately she frowned harshly.

"Have they done anything else to you?" She demanded fiercely. "How often do they hurt you?"

"Every time I sneak into the village for food or something, they seem to find me and beat me up." Naruto's eyes welled up with some tears, causing him to wipe them dry. He didn't sniffle or bawl his eyes out, but tried to regain his composure and continue. "They leave me such bad shape that I have to go the hospital two or three times a month."

"You poor thing." The older woman said sadly. "How do you survive? Most people would be bed-ridden for weeks with broken ribs like yourself."

"I have Kyu-chan." Naruto said as he bent over gently and scratched the Kyuubi's neck and the back of her ears like he had seen people do to their dogs in the village. She leaned into him, trying to savor the feeling, but instantly remembered the situation they were in and pulled back. She looked at the two female Hyuuga and sniffed the air around them. "Besides, I heal fast."

"Yes, you are lucky to have such a faithful companion." Hinata's mother replied and smiled. "Now since you asked us what we were doing out here, I will tell you." She placed a hand on Hinata's shoulder and scooted the girl in front of her. "Hinata wandered off from our walk while I was talking to some other clansmen. I caught up to her here where we found you." She looked at the blonde boy standing before her and at his sharp, clear blue eyes. "Does that answer your question?"

"Yes, thank you." Naruto had let his kunai fall to a neutral position earlier when the two didn't attack immediately, but now he threw it back into his hideout, relaxing in their presence.

"**They are trustworthy."** The Kyuubi said as she finished sniffing them and the air around them. **"If they had wanted to harm you, they could have done so almost immediately. Besides, they don't have any scents around them to indicate anger or an inclination to violence."**

_Are you sure?_ Naruto asked. _This could be a trap._

"**I don't think so, they seem to have honest intentions, but never the less don't trust them blindly, take a kunai or two with you." **She replied.

_What do you mean? They aren't taking me anywhere. _Naruto said.

"So would you like to come with us to have something to eat?" Hinata's mother asked Naruto.

"Umm…"

"**Go ahead, I'll be with you." **Urged the Kyuubi. _**It's about time he made a friend and an ally.**_

"Okay." Naruto answered. "Let me grab a few things." He vanished back down his hole and returned a moment later with a small sack full of shuriken and kunai. When he received a strange look from the older woman, he explained. "I find these laying around the training grounds and sell them as scrap metal." His answer seemed to satisfy the mother who, upon further examination, saw that the weapons were deformed, dulled and defiantly not in usable condition.

The mother and daughter duo lead Naruto through the forest along a walking trail that villagers occasionally used to take peaceful walks on. As they neared the village, the three drew increasing amounts of attention. Naruto also began to hear the usual whispers of _'monster'_ and _'demon'_ as well as a few vicious comments directed towards the two Hyuuga. _'What are they doing with _him_?'_ and _'I thought that the Hyuuga had more class.'_ When Naruto heard the comments directed towards his two companions, he snarled. The Kyuubi, running around Naruto's heals, also drew back her snout to form a noiseless snarl as she felt Naruto's anger and heard the comments.

Upon entering the village proper, the news that one Uzumaki Naruto had entered the gates of Konoha spread like wildfire. Soon, a small crowd followed only a dozen steps behind the three. Hinata's mother ignored the crowd for a few blocks, but finaly she stopped, spun around and confronted the crowd.

"Can I help you?" She demanded.

"You can give us that Demon." One man shouted.

"You should know better than associate with monsters such as him." A second cried.

"We must kill it for what it did to us." A third and fourth voice demanded. Soon the crowd formed a circle around the three. Hinata's mother backed the three of them up against a wall and placed herself in front of both Naruto and Hinata, protecting them equally.

At some unspoken signal, the crowd rushed towards the three standing against the wall, with the intent to kill Naruto and whoever stood in their way, no matter who they were. Naruto and the Kyuubi flew into action. Naruto flung the heavy bag of broken ninja weaponry at the nearest few villagers who were knocked back by the force. This gave Naruto time to carefully remove two good kunai from underneath his shirt and readied himself for the next wave of villagers.

To Naruto's right, Hinata's mother had engaged in a taijutsu fight with some more villagers. Despite the fact she wasn't a kunoichi, being a part of a ninja clan taught her how to defend herself. The she and Naruto stood protectively in front of Hinata who's activated Byakugan helped her dodge any projectiles that might have gotten past her protectors. The Kyuubi stood furthest to the right and leapt at anyone who approached her. She showed no mercy and brutally incapacitated all the men who tried to attack her.

In under a minute, ANBU ninja arrived at the scene and forced the mob to stop their assault. They were slightly shocked to see a bloody Kyuubi standing over the fallen men on her side of the fight. For the most part, the only injuries suffered by Hinata and her mother was scrapes and minor bruises. Naruto on the other hand, only agrivated his broken ribs, causing him to seize up in pain after the fight was over. He also received a fresh set of deep cuts that were already closing up thanks to the Kyuubi's chakra. In addition, his clothes were torn and bloodied beyond hope and he looked like a war veteran returning home from battle, except he had no home to go home to.

After taking Hinata and her mother's statements, the ANBU ninja and a few other on duty Konoha shinobi cleared the wounded to the hospital while arresting others for disturbing the peace and assault of an honorable clan member. Hinata's mother looked over the blonde who had just helped protect her daughter before deciding what to do.

"Come, we're getting you some new clothes." She said to Naruto while firmly grasping Hinata's hand. "After that we'll get something to eat."

This embarrassed Naruto to no end. "No…I should probably let you go on your way. I'm sorry I put you two in danger, it won't happen again."

Hinata's mother looked at Naruto in almost complete disbelief. "Naruto-kun, you just helped protect my daughter. I must repay your actions in some way. Besides, it would be dishonorable for a Hyuuga to ignore your actions and let you go unrewarded." Naruto shuffled his feet in embarrassment but fell into step behind the two Hyuuga.

Hinata's mother led the two children around the square until they came to a suitable clothing store. When they entered, the storeowner appeared at the older woman's side. "How may I be of assistance Hyuuga-sama?"

"I would like to buy something to fit Naruto." She pointed to the blonde before continuing. "He helped protect my daughter today but his clothes were ruined in the process." Her words seemed to affect the man on a deep level. Unknown to his customers he had lost a daughter-in-law the night the Kyuubi attacked. He had long blamed the blond Uzumaki Naruto for her passing, but the words of the older woman suddenly changed his opinion of the boy. Instead of a monster, the boy was a hero. He didn't know what possessed him to suddenly shift his view of the boy, but something just clicked inside of him that changed him.

"I think that I might have something sturdy in his size, hold on a moment please." He turned around and disappeared into the back of his store. The three heard boxes being moved about for a minute before a grunt of approval filtered back into the store. The man reappeared a moment later carrying several articles of clothing. "These are older styles, but very study material." He let Hinata's mother feel the weave of the fabric of one article of clothing. When she nodded in approval, he continued. "This one is a cross between somewhat formal wear and work clothes." It was a two-piece shirt and pants that readily allowed for the sleeves and pant legs to be removed in the heat. It was, however, a nice shade of blue that remarkably complimented Naruto's eyes. It also had some silver woven into the collar

The man held up a second option after Naruto had finished looking at the first. "This one is more for work and harsh conditions than the first, but the shirt also can be flipped inside-out for a dressier look." Naruto looked at the second for less time than the first and then looked at the man as he presented the third and final article of clothing. It was a white shirt and a black pair of pants. The back of the shirt boasted a black embroidered swirl meant to be a decoration. The pant legs were also able to detach to allow the wearer to be comfortable in the heat. The material was stiff and strong while also being.

"May I try this one on?" Naruto asked the man hesitantly.

"Sure, just as long as you take off your bloodied shirt before and wipe as much dirt off as you can." He storekeeper replied with a smile. He pointed to a small closet, which Naruto disappeared into to change. He emerged a moment later, wearing the shirt and pants. Although the pants were too long for him, he had removed the bottom portion of the legs and wore them as shorts. Both articles of clothing were slightly too big, they gave Naruto a comfortable fit while giving him room to grow.

"I like this one." Naruto stated.

"Then we'll get it." Hinata's mother said with a smile. Turning to the shopkeeper she asked, "How much do they cost?"

"Considering that I was going to turn them into scrap material when I got the time…no charge." He replied, much to the older woman's shock. "In fact, I have a few more sets that you can have for free if you'd like. You'd save me the trouble of storing and dealing with them."

"That is most generous." She bowed to the old man. "Thank you."

"Thank you sir." Naruto said, imitating Hinata's mother and bowed slightly. The man smiled as he came back a moment later with a small bag of identical clothes to the ones Naruto was wearing.

"Here you go." He handed it to Naruto who accepted the bag and peaked inside to see three other sets.

Hinata's mother led Naruto and Hinata out of the shop after she thanked the owner again for his generosity. She took them down a side street, which intersected the main street of Konoha. They made their way towards the Hokage's tower before taking a left and stopped before a small outdoor restaurant. "Have you ever had ramen?" Hinata asked, overcoming her shyness to manage the sentence.

Naruto shook his head. "I've never heard of ramen, what is it?" Hinata's mother chuckled at Naruto's response.

"Come up here and find out." She said patting a seat next to her of the opposite side of her daughter. Needless to say, the following meal turned out to be quite enjoyable for Naruto. Ramen was now officially his favorite food. As he slurped through his forth bowl, he paused to enjoy the exquisite taste. He wasn't shy when it came to letting the cooks know how good their meal was.

Hinata's mother smiled as she watched the blonde on her right eat with gusto and pack away more food than she thought a seven year old could possibly eat. Naruto stopped after his fourth bowl and patted his rounded stomach. "Thank you very much for the meal." The blond felt something furry rub against his dangling legs and looked down to see the Kyuubi, somehow cleaned off from the fight, sitting next to his stool. Smiling he patted/scratched her head fondly, earning him something comparable to a purr from the vixen.

_You were right, they are nice people. _Naruto told the Kyuubi. _They got me new clothes and four bowls of the most amazing food ever: ramen._

"**Are you going to do anything else with them?"** The fox asked her host.

_I don't know._ Naruto replied. _But I'll find out soon enough._

"Naruto-kun, I would like for you to meet Hinata's father, my husband. I'm sure that he would like to know who helped protect his daughter." Naruto only nodded as he took this information in.

In his head, Naruto was stunned at how he was being treated. For the first time in his life, someone had actually bought something for him and was trying to introduce him to their family. From what the Kyuubi had told him about the Hyuuga clan, he knew that they were a proud and powerful clan and one of the most respected in Konoha.

"**You should be glad that this woman has taken an interest in you." **The vixen walking next to Naruto said. Naruto suddenly became aware that he was entering a walled and gated compound. He had been so deep in thought that he didn't remember walking there. **"If they decide to support you or take you under their wing, you wouldn't have to worry about the villagers."**

"Um…Ma'am? What should I call you?" Naruto asked Hinata's mother. "I don't want to appear disrespectful to you in front of your husband."

Hinata's mother smiled at the blonde walking beside her. "You may call me Lady Hyuuga in front of him, and you chould call him Hyuuga-sama or if he introduces himself, Hiashi-sama."

Naruto nodded in understanding. "Thanks, I'll remember that." He looked at Hinata who had been quiet for a very long time. "Are you okay? You haven't said anything for a while."

"I-I'm fine." She whispered and then tried to hide behind her mother's legs.

"Okay…" Naruto said, doubting her words. "Man, that fight was scary."

"H-Hai." Hinata replied. "But you were really brave to stand up to those people."

"Eh?" Naruto asked. "You really think so?" He had never received a compliment from a human being in his seven harsh years of existence. "Thank you Hinata-chan!" Hinata blushed at Naruto's reply. In her eye he was one of the bravest people she knew, second to her father and mother.

Naruto fell silent as they stopped in front of a door. "I'll go in and tell my husband about you. Wait here with Hinata until we call you in." Hinata's mother opened the door and disappeared into the room, closing the door behind her. Even though the conversation-taking place between husband and wife was barely a wall away, Naruto couldn't hear anything but subtle and low murmurs. Naruto looked down at the Kyuubi as she wrapped her tail around his ankle in an affectionate manner.

"I thought that foxes didn't like humans." Hinata whispered to the blond as she observed the affection between the two.

"Well…Kyu-chan and I go way back." Naruto replied in a low whisper. "We kinda just came together years ago and have stuck together ever since." His answer seemed to satisfy Hinata's curiosity for the moment.

"Hinata, Naruto. Please enter." A male voice filtered through the door. Hinata slid the door open allowing Naruto and the Kyuubi to enter after her. Inside, Naruto saw Hinata's mother sitting next to a man with pale eyes like hers and Hinata's. They sat on a large mat with a low table in front of them. On the side of the table closest to the door and Hinata and Naruto, there were several small mats. Naruto sat down on one imitating the way Hinata sat. The Kyuubi lay down next to him, placing her head on his lap. Absentmindedly, Naruto scratched behind her ears causing the Kyuubi to growl affectionately.

"Welcome to the Hyuuga estate Naruto-kun." The man said formally. "My name is Hyuuga Hiashi."

"Thank you, Hiashi-sama." Naruto replied respectfully, bowing his head slightly.

"**Good job."** The Kyuubi replied. **"That certainly should have surprised him a little if he knew about your upbringing."**

"Welcome home daughter." Hiashi said to Hinata.

"Thank you, Father." The pale-eyed girl replied in a respectful way.

"My wife was just telling me about how you defended my daughter today in the streets." Hiashi said turning to Naruto. "I would like to personally thank you for your actions."

"I couldn't let anything happen to her." Naruto stated. "I would never have forgiven myself if I could have kept her from injury and didn't." His vocabulary and strong words seemed out of place for a seven-year-old boy who had grown up without parents or anyone else to teach him.

"**I'd say he's impressed by your words so far."** The vixen said from his lap.

_How do you know? _Naruto asked. _You haven't even looked at him since we started to talk._

"**I can feel how quick his heart is beating, I can feel a great many other things that all give me the same answer."** She replied smugly. **"I have highly developed senses."**

"I am interested to hear what you do with your time." Hiashi told Naruto. My wife said that you fought very well. She also said that your fox there fought quite capably as well."

"Well, I live a pretty painful life." Naruto began. "I live mostly outside the village in little hide outs. When I'm not doing physical training or collecting broken kunai and shuriken from training fields and selling them for scrap, I'm being beaten up." The blonde paused to lift up his shirt to reveal white bandages around his ribs. Two kunai were tucked into one wrap. "I get hurt so badly that I have to go to the hospital at least two or three times a month. Just two days ago, I got six broken ribs and a concussion." He saw the head of the Hyuuga wince slightly at the thought of his injury."

"How are you still standing and able to fight?" He asked, unable to restrain himself.

"According to the nurse, I have some sort of incredible healing factor." Naruto replied. "These bandages are mostly a precaution, but my ribs still hurt even though they are mostly healed." He let his shirt fall back down, hiding the bandages. "I have learned that if I carry a kunai or two, I can keep all but the most determined villagers away."

"Have you been attacked by shinobi?" Hiashi asked, interested in Naruto's past.

"Hai." Naruto replied wincing. "They hurt me the worst. The worst wound I got happened two years ago." Naruto told the head of the Hyuuga clan about how he had nearly been stabbed through the heart. "After that I decided to live outside the village."

Hiashi was mildly impressed by Naruto's story. He had no delusions about the beast sealed within the young blonde. He was one of Namikaze Minato's Genin teammates. He respected the final wishes of his teammate and never saw Naruto as the Kyuubi, which many villagers did. He was, however, curious about the red fox seemingly asleep in Naruto's lap. He would have to find out more about it later, unfortunately his duties as a clan leader demanded his attention at that moment.

"I must apologies for cutting short our time together today." Hiash sighed as he stood up. "My duties do not grant me the free time I wish I could have. Your actions today have earned my respect. Feel free to live with the Hyuuga for as long as you wish. I look forward to talking with you in the future." Without another word the head of the Hyuuga clan swept out of the room.

The Kyuubi's raised her head as soon as Hiashi left the room. **"He's interested in me."** She stated.

_How can you tell? _Naruto asked, amazed the she could even sense anything to indicate that.

"**Simple, he was looking at me a lot during your meeting."** The vixen replied. **"Are you going to stay with the Hyuuga?"**

_I dunno. _Naruto replied. _What do you think? They seemed nice enough. They didn't attack me, and have treated me well._

"**I say that you take advantage of any opportunity that you come across."** She answered. **"You could learn a lot from this clan. They have amazing chakra control, something which you lack."**

_Yeah, and who's fault is that? _Naruto retorted. _It was your idea to build up my reserves like crazy. That's the only reason I have a hard time controlling my chakra._

"**You needed the endurance and the strength at the time." **The Kyuubi replied truthfully. **"If you worked on control, you'd have been dead within a week."**

"Naruto-kun, why don't you come with me?" Hinata's mom said to the blond. "We should ready a spare room for you."

"Thank you." Naruto said humbly, he was simply astounded by this clan's hospitality.

XXX

Hiashi walked through the streets of Konoha heading towards the Hokage's tower. Although today was a regular meeting of clan heads and the civilian leaders, the wise Hyuuga knew that something was going to happen; something big. It was just a gut feeling, but his experience taught him that those feelings were usually dead on. His day was about to become a lot more stressful.

**Alright!!!! I think that this is the best place to stop for now. **

**I hope everyone has enjoyed this chapter and is ready to read my other story, A Second Chance.**

**Anyone know Hinata's mom's name? I can't find it on the web. **

**~Cyberviper42~**


	3. Chapter 3

**Alright everybody!!! Cyberviper42's back with another exciting chapter of Together or Alone!!!**

**I got a review stating that Hinata and Naruto should be like brother and sister. I think that this would only work if Naruto were adopted into the Hyuuga clan. I also said in chapter 2 that Hiashi was Minato's genin teammate, but I don't think he would go so far as to adopt Naruto. He doesn't know that Naruto is Minato's son. If that knowledge got out at Naruto's birth, then practically every clan would be begging to adopt him.**

**I can't really think of anything else to say here, so I'll just start writing the chapter.**

**READ AND REVIEW!!!**

**Enjoy.**

"Normal speech"

_Thoughts_

**Biju speech**

_**Biju thoughts**_

XXX

Hyuuga Hiashi tried to alleviate his headache by massaging his temples. It didn't work. There was simply too much discord among the village leaders at this particular meeting. Naruto's little fight didn't go unnoticed by many of the council members who still bayed for his death claiming that he was an unstable monster.

"He attacked a group of peaceful civilians and nearly killed several." One non-ninja councilman exclaimed. "A violation of law like this cannot go unpunished."

Hiashi stood up. "Councilman, I'm not sure where you got your facts from, but I have two reliable accounts of today's…incident…that say otherwise."

"Are…Are you defending that _monster_??!!" A second councilmember exclaimed as he stood up. "Whomever your sources are, they are false. I have plenty of eye-witnesses that say he was the first to make an aggressive move."

"May I ask why you say my wife and daughter are liars?" Hiashi asked in his cold tone of voice that indicated he was mad. "Naruto is not a demon or a monster, or any of the other things that you may call him. He defended my daughter without any regard for his personal safety."

"That is simply preposterous!" A third civilian member stated. "He has a long history of fighting villagers whenever he enters the gates of Konoha."

"Have you ever sat down and talked with him?" Hiashi demanded. "Obviously you have not. If you had, you would have learned that even with six broken ribs, he forced his body to fight to protect. My wife met him hiding in the forest. He was so terrified of her that he had a kunai in his hand while still hiding inside his little shelter."

"If it wasn't for his fox companion—"

"What!!!" A ninja member exclaimed this time. "Hokage-sama. If the boy can gain the trust of foxes, I think that this may indicate that the Kyuubi is influencing him."

Hiahsi nodded his head in agreement, surprising the members of the council. "I believe that the Kyuubi has found a way to circumnavigate the seal." He held up his hand, calling for quiet as nearly everyone in the room burst out shouting. "However, it I believe that it hasn't influenced him in any harmful way."

"Please Hiashi-san, do you have any evidence to support this belief?" The Third asked, interested in what the Hyuuga clan head had to say.

"Hai, Hokage-sama." Hiashi replied. "He calls his fox Kyu-chan. That is the first thing that piqued my interest in the fox. Ask yourselves this, if he had heard about the Kyuubi from any villagers, he would have been told that the Kyuubi was terrible creature. Therefore, why would he call his fox, Kyu-chan after the world's most feared demon?" Hiashi's incredible logic seemed to be getting him nowhere yet. "I hypothesize that the Kyuubi has contacted him and has been teaching him things."

"For example," He continued. "When I spoke with him, he was incredibly well behaved, and his vocabulary was well beyond what a seven-year-old boy should posses."

"That only means that the matrons at the orphanage have done a good job raising him." The Third said absentmindedly.

"Hokage-sama, I disagree." Hiashi was out or character. He rarely went against the Hokage, and when he did, it was usually for a very good reason. The Third frowned slightly, but nodded, indicating that the Hyuuga head should continue.

"Naruto has been living alone and fending for himself for at least a two years." The statement absolutely bewildered the members of the council. "He has already started to make some money from a smith named Daren. I spoke with him on my way here and he said that Naruto has been coming to him with scrap metal for over a year and a half."

"That doesn't prove that he's not being influenced by the Kyuubi or that he's been living on his own for as long as you say." The first council member to speak said.

Unfazed by the man's interruption, Hiashi continued. "I also checked into his medical records in the hospital. He has been there at least three times a month for the past two years, starting with his first admittance at the age of five when he was stabbed with a kunai, nearly completely through his chest. The ANBU patrol that found him and brought him to the hospital stated that he had lost a huge amount of blood, and yet he survived the incident. When no parents or guardians came to claim him after _three_ days, he was released from ICU and allowed to recover in the normal wards."

"To whom did you talk to find out this information Hiashi-san?" The elderly Hokage asked, concerned.

"No one. It was all in his file, which is quite thick." Hiashi set a folder on the table everyone was sitting at. "This is a copy of his medical record." He paused for a moment before continuing. "It states on every single admittance to the hospital that he recovered in a matter or days, if not hours, no matter how grievously he was injured. He has a healing factor which I believe comes from the Kyuubi."

"This significantly supports your statement that he has been without a guardian for quite some time, but how does this show that the Kyuubi is benign?" Sarutobi asked as he closed the folder slowly.

"If the Kyuubi truly meant harm to the boy or Konoha, don't you think something worse that Naruto being injured would have occurred?" Hiashi asked the assembled village leaders. "The fact that in all the police reports concerning Naruto state that no one has ever come forth claiming that he had harmed him in any way. With everyone in the village seemingly crying out for his death, no one has come forward with evidence such as a wound to show that Naruto attacked them."

Everyone turned to Uchiha Fugaku. "Is this true Fugaku-san?" The Third asked.

"Hai Hokage-sama." The leader of the Uchiha clan and the Konoha Police force replied. "What Hiashi-san says is true. No complaints come to my mind." The man visibly resented having to support the Hyuuga clan, but he couldn't lie about something like this.

"Also there is the account that Naruto's Kyu-chan fought today." This revelation startled everyone in the room. "My wife noted that it only attacked those who approached my daughter." The pale-eyed man paused for a fraction of a second to take a breath. "It was the only one to severely wound the villagers. After the villagers fled, it didn't pursue them. Instead it stayed with Naruto and my wife and daughter. It's knowledge of how to nearly kill a human strikes me as odd for a normal fox."

"Do you know any more Hiashi-san?" The Third asked.

"I'm afraid not, Hokage-sama." Hiashi replied with a slight bow. "I didn't have the time I would have liked to speak more with Naruto."

"Do you know where he is?" The Third asked.

"Hai, he's probably in the Hyuuga estate as we speak." Hiashi replied. "I invited him to live with us for a while."

"Tell him that I would like to speak with him tomorrow and for him to bring his fox." Sarutobi said.

"Hai Hokage-sama."

"Why would you consent to having a demon under your roof Hiashi?" A nameless council member exclaimed. "Have you gone mad?"

Anger flashed though Hyuuga Hiashi's eyes. "No, it is you who are all mad. Do you know why Naruto defended my family?" No one said a word. "He told me that he couldn't forgive himself if someone who was kind to him, got hurt on account of him. The boy has more guts than the whole lot of you combined." Hiashi didn't say another word as he stormed out of the room.

Danzo scowled at the uncharacteristic actions of the Hyuuga clan head. Standing up, he addressed the council. "I believe that since Naruto contains a great power," The former ROOT leader avoided mentioning the Kyuubi by name. "And potential, he should be taught by the best Konoha has to offer in order for him to become a great shinobi."

"You wish to turn the boy into a living weapon." The Sandaime stated in a monotone expressing his dislike for the crippled man.

"Not a weapon, but a person that can either end or prevent a war due to their power…like the Yondaime for example..." He trailed off knowing that he would have support from the other council members.

"With all due respect, Danzo, the pup is barely seven years old." Inuzuka Tsume, the head of the Inuzuka clan, replied. "We don't know whether he wants to become a shinobi or not, and it isn't our place to force him into a life he may not like."

"I agree with Tsume." Akimichi Chouza, the head or the Akimichi clan, added. "We all have kids his age and although they will probably want to become shinobi, we don't force them down that path." Other clan head nodded in agreement.

"But this is for the best of the village." Danzo said in protest, looking at several council members that normally supported him. "He could even grow strong enough to claim the title of Hokage when he is old enough and ready for such a responsibility. It would greatly increase Konoha's reputation."

"Pray tell, Danzo, who did you have in mind to train the boy?" Sarutobi asked suspiciously.

"I know that I may not be fit for shinobi duties, but I can still pass on my knowledge to younger generations." Danzo's cool voice enticed those who listened to agree with him, but to his dismay, many were not convinced. "I think that those who learned under me in the past have benefited greatly from my tutalage."

"Yes, so much so that they are beaming with smiles and saying to everyone they can how great a teacher you are." Nara Shikaku, the head of the Nara clan, said sarcastically. "Bullshit."

"While I will admit that you produce…" The Third trailed off looking for the right word. "…Excellent shinobi, you do not try to let them keep their personalities. You stripped them of their emotions, leaving them unfit for any other line of work."

"I agree with Hokage-sama." Aburame Shibi, the head of the Aburame clan, stated in an emotionless voice. "Although we, Aburames, think logically, we are not devoid of emotions. Someone without emotions cannot truly be a human because emotions define us as a species." His words backed the Hokage's position. "Feelings also drive shinobi to strive their hardest to obtain their goal." He turned to Danzo before continuing. "Danzo, how someone without 'unnecessary emotions' can love Konoha enough to be willing to die for its safety? Is not love an emotion?"

"Quite frankly, your trainees are failures of humans." The head of the Inuzuka clan added her two cents to the Aburame's cause. Danzo scowled at their stances on the issue, as well as the lack of support he received. No one lifted so much as a finger to help him.

"I think that the majority of this council agrees that Naruto should be allowed to choose his own path." Sarutobi closed the case. "However, if he does wish to become a shinobi of Konoha, I agree with you, Danzo, that he should be given training early on." The crippled ROOT leader's mouth curled into a small smirk. "However, I think that other ninja in Konoha should be the ones to train him. He needs to be able to live a fairly normal childhood to ensure that he grows up to become a stable person." He paused to see many clan leaders nodding in agreement.

"I think that that should be done no matter what life he chooses, for the sake of keeping his seal stable and the beast inside him at bay until we learn more about the situation." The Nara clan head stated, taking advantage of Danzo's stated purpose of keeping Konoha as a whole safe.

"Since I will meet Naruto tomorrow, I will see what his choice is." In the mean time, I believe that we have some issues to discuss about the maintenance of the northern gate…" The aged Hokage changed the direction of the meeting, getting it back onto its original agenda.

XXX

Sarutobi sighed as he gazed through his crystal ball. He could see Hinata, Naruto and the fox playing tag in one of the many Hyuuga courtyards. From where the aged Hokage sat, he could see that Naruto's companion was anything but aggressive. It was currently playing tag as if it was a third child. It would tag its target by jumping up and licking them in the face.

Watching the children play reminded Sarutobi of all the other villagers he had seen grow up as he watched over Konoha. When Hinata collapsed onto the soft grassy lawn, Naruto and the fox sat down next to her. The fox lay down in between the humans and allowed them to scratch it. From the Hokage's point or view, the fox behaved just like one would expect a dog would.

He sighed. _Minato, if only you could see your son now…_

XXX

Early the next morning, Naruto was standing before the Hokage of Konoha. As requested by Sarutobi, Hiashi had escorted the seven-year-old blonde along with his fox to the Hokage's office.

"Good morning Hiashi-san, Naruto-kun." The Third said with a puff of smoke. "Please have a seat." He motioned to two chairs in front of the great desk of the Hokage. The Kyuubi curled up around Naruto's feet and tucked her head under her tail and seemingly fell asleep.

"Naruto, I wanted to speak with you about your past." The old man said. "It has come to my attention that you haven't lived in the orphanage for many years."

"You mean the place with the mad people?" Naruto asked.

"Did they treat you badly there?" The Hokage asked sincerely.

"Hai." Naruto said. "They didn't feed me much, didn't give me a bed or anything, and didn't let me go to any classes. Then they kicked me out when I was five."

"And you lived on your own ever since, correct?" The old man asked.

"Hai." Naruto answered. "But Hiashi-sama has kindly given me a place to stay in the Hyuuga clan estate."

"I see. When did you meet this fox of yours?" Naruto looked hesitant for a moment, zoning completely out, and then looked at his companion with surprise written all over his face.

_You want me to tell them everything?_ He asked the demon fox at his feet. _Are you crazy?_

"**Many would say so…"** She retorted with a snort. **"You will need to funnel more of my chakra when you summon me in a moment. That way I can speak to them."**

Naruto looked at the two men staring at him. He smiled weakly. "This is going to look strange, but Kyu-chan wants to tell you everything herself."

"Pray tell how a fox can do that?" Hiashi asked, slightly annoyed by Naruto's words.

"She kinda lives in my head." Naruto said, earning him some intense stares from the two men. Almost instantly the Kyuubi disappeared in a cloud of chakra smoke, surprising everyone.

"A summoning creature?" the Hokage asked skeptically. "How did you sign a summoning contract?"

"I don't know what you are talking about, but Kyu-chan figured a way to make a body outside of me so that she could get food and stuff for me when I was hiding." Naruto's words didn't abate the men's fears. The young seven-year-old blonde clasped his hands into the hand seal the fox had taught him. Closing his eyes, he channeled the fox's chakra through the hand seal and an instant later he heard a poof. He smelled the bitter chakra smoke and opened his eyes when it had finally dispersed. In the place of the cloud, the Kyuubi stood about four feet tall with two tails swinging behind her.

Sarutobi and Hiashi gaped at the sight. They Kyuubi grinned wickedly before licking Naruto on the cheek.

"**I finally can speak to other people…oh the joy."** She spoke aloud, scaring the battle-hardened veteran shinobi stiff. She scratched behind her hears for a moment before sitting down next to Naruto who rubbed the back of her neck. **"As you can see I'm not here to fight, kill or harm anyone…except those who wish me, and by extension Naruto, harm**."

"Forgive me for being rude, but what the hell is going on here?" Hiashi asked, actually losing his cool enough to swear.

"**Hiashi-san, I am the Kyuubi no Kitsune, the one you fought all those years ago."** The blood-red vixen grinned as both the Hokage and Hyuuga head shuddered. **"I'm quite sorry for the misunderstanding."**

"Kyu-chan, why did you attack Konoha in the first place?" Naruto asked. "You never told me. And they don't trust you because of that."

"I would like to know why myself." Sarutobi stated.

"And I." Hiashi added. "As well as the rest of Konoha…"

"**About a month before we met on the battlefield, I was living with my family in the forests of the west."** She scratched her nose with a forepaw before continuing. **"I left for a morning run and when I came back…when I came back, everyone was slaughtered."** A tear fell from her eye and splashed onto the wooden floor beneath them. **"Someone had come and killed them all. With their blood, they had written a message claiming that 'The Leaf's hand will crush all those who oppose it.' The whole area had the strange stench of a snake but I dismissed it. I ran here fully intent on slaughtering every person in Konoha in revenge."**

"**But that is where everything fell apart." **The demon fox lay down, placing her forepaws over her snout as if to cover her face. **"The first thing I noticed is that the shinobi from the leaf were absolute weaklings. No one capable of hurting, let alone slaughter my family came out to meet me in combat."**

"Then why did you keep on attacking?" Sarutobi demanded.

"**I don't know." **The vixen moaned. **"Knew next thing I knew, I was being sucked into Naruto-kun's body. The man who sealed me away was in tears. He asked me to watch over the child since it was the only thing I could do…he said I was never going to escape."**

"He was right, you are intimately bound to Naruto." Hiashi stated. "If he lives, you live, if he dies, so do you. Is that why you have been helping him?"

"**In part, but also, I want to repay Konoha for my actions." **Her words surprised the older men. **"Last night I snuck into the archives of the library and I think I discovered who killed my family."**

"Was it Orochimaru by any chance?" Sarutobi asked.

"**Yes…"** She said slowly. **"How did you know?" **Her demanding voice shook the entire room.

"He was my student." The Third said slowly, earning a menacing growl from the Kyuubi. Her twin tails flew dangerously behind her. "But he turned traitor nearly ten years ago." The vixen's growl stopped abruptly.

"**So he was the one who did it…"** She muttered.

"It is quite possible." Hiashi stated. "He was one of the three legendary Sannin of Konoha. He is an incredibly powerful shinobi who doesn't like Konoha and also, probably most importantly, has the snake contract.

"**That explains the stench of snakes." **The Kyuubi said thoughtfully. **"As well as the specific mention of Konoha."**

"From our spy-network we have learned that he has been affiliated with a group of missing-nins that seek the tailed beasts for some reason." The Hokage added his two cents. "That explains you as a target for the brutality."

"**Yes, it does…"** The ancient fox trailed off and lay beck next to Naruto deep in thought.

"Naruto, I was wondering what you planned to do in the future." Sarutobi said. "Many powerful people in Konoha want to know if you wish to become a shinobi."

"I…I don't know." Naruto confessed. "Last week I was living on my own with Kyu-chan, and today I have a place to stay, for a little while at the very least." He added looking at Hiashi. "I'm just really unsure about what to do right now. Besides I have to think about Kyu-chan as well." His concern for the fox demon surprised Sarutobi.

_He thinks of practically everyone else before himself…He has the potential to become a fine shinobi…and even Hokage._ The battle-hardened shinobi smiled as he looked at the young blonde sitting before him. "Would you like more time to think?" He asked.

Naruto nodded. "Maybe a few hours? Would that be alright?" He asked nervously.

"You don't need to rush something like this." Sarutobi said in a serious voice. "Becoming a shinobi is hard work, and a dangerous life."

"Thank you, I'll keep that in mind." Naruto replied. "Is there someplace where I could go to think?"

"On top of the Hokage's mountain is a peaceful place that I sometimes go to think." The Hokage replied. "People rarely go there, so you won't be disturbed. If you'd like, you can go there right now. Do you know how to get there?"

"Hokage-sama, I've covered every single square inch of Konoha during my flights from villagers." The blonde smiled. "I can get there. May I leave?"

"Yes you may Naruto, stay safe." The blonde disappeared through the door milliseconds after the words left the Hokage's mouth. The Kyuubi shrank back to her original size and merged her tails to form a single tail and leapt after her host.

"What it would be to be young again." Hiashi murmured aloud after he watched the duo leave the room.

"It would be lovely." Sarutobi replied as he heard the Hyuuga. "But we have other things to discus than what it would be like to be young again."

XXX

Naruto's climb to the top of the Hokage's mountain was uneventful, which was surprising considering that he walked along a relatively well-used trail. The Kyuubi bounded through the underbrush parallel to the path, scaring all the small animals into their holes and burrows. The snapping of twigs was a firm reminder to the seven year old that his companion was still near him when he couldn't see her any more. But being alone on the path did scare him a little. Whenever he was alone, bad things tended to happen; villagers would attack him, or he would get lost.

Naruto found his way to the top of the mountain and sat down on one of the heads. From his position, sitting on the top, he couldn't see what the face looked like, but the hair was spiky and stuck out at odd angles. For some reason he felt at home among the stone pillars, but he didn't know why…but his furry companion did.

_**It's strange that he immediately goes to his father's head.**_She grinned slightly as she padded over to the blonde. _**Maybe he unconsciously knows that this is his family member…or maybe it just reminds him of his own hair.**_

The Kyuubi sat down next to Naruto and placed her head on his lap like a faithful dog would do. Almost out of pure instinct, Naruto began to scratch behind her ears. "Can you talk like you did in the Hokage's office?"

"**Yes." **She stated clearly before continuing in his mind. **"But it's safer to communicate in here. In a shinobi village, you don't know who might be listening."**

_Good idea._ Naruto replied. _We still have to think about our future. I mean we could be ninja and beat the hell out of anyone who attacked us._

"**But you heard what the old man said," **The fox replied. **"A ninja's life is deadly and difficult."**

_But where's the fun when there's no danger? _Naruto queried. _It helps us stay on our toes._

"**But eventually something can happen and we might die." **The demon fox said with worry and…fear evident in her voice.

_Am I imagining things, or is the Kyuubi no Kitsune afraid? _Naruto jabbed at the vixen's pride. She snapped her head up and forced the blonde to fall backward.

Placing a paw on his chest she growled at him. **"You foolish mortal. You think that I, the Kyuubi, would be afraid of anything?"** Said blonde mortal reached up and scratched behind her ears earning him an annoyed growl.

"What should we do?" Naruto asked aloud. _I don't know what to do…_

"**You're still a kid." **The fox said as she curled up on her host's chest. **"You aren't mature by a long shot, but you have to decide at some point what to do. You cannot go through life without a goal."**

_Well, I'd like to help you in your revenge…but I don't know about anything else._ Naruto trailed off. _Should I try to become a ninja?_

"**Kit, whether I like it or not, I can only advise you as you make your decision, even though it affects both of us."** The Kyuubi stated **"My advice is that you get ninja training so you'll be strong enough to protect yourself as well as the people you forge bonds with."**

_So I should become a ninja to get strong to help defeat your enemies as well?_ Naruto asked.

"**You'd also be able to protect those who you love."** The vixen replied and then grinned. "**Besides once you become a Konoha shinobi, no civilian or ninja can attack you without tremendous consequences."**

_How do you know that?_ Naruto questioned the fox curled up on his chest.

"**With my tutelage you can grow incredibly strong."** She answered with a touch of pride. **"If they attacked you, you could kill them and never have to worry about another attack. Everyone would fear you like crazy."**

_But fear like that can be dangerous. _The seven-year-old blonde reasoned. _If they fear me too much they'll attack me to 'rid Konoha of a terrible monster.' I'd prefer that they accepted and liked me._

"**You know that that isn't very likely to happen."** The demon fox replied.

_So I'll have to become the best shinobi in the world so that they'll accept me._ Naruto declared, sitting up violently, causing the Kyuubi to tumble off her temporary bed and yelp in surprise. She quickly rolled to her feet and shook off the dust and dirt she had acquired from her tumble.

The Kyuubi, like practically every cogent female regardless of species, prided herself in how well-kept her appearance was. Irritably she scratched her side with a hind leg, trying to remove the last vestiges of dust and dirt from her brilliant red coat.

"**An admirable goal, but next time you wish to do something like that, please, for the love of kami, warn me before-hand."** She grumbled, clearly irritated and annoyed by the young blonde's action.

_Should we head back to the Hokage's office?_ Naruto asked his red companion.

"**I like it here."** The vixen replied as she jumped to the top of a spike, rebounding off of several others to give herself height and speed. **"If they need to talk to us, they know where we are and can come get us."** She curled up and tucked her nose under her bushy tail.

Naruto walked to the same stone spike that the Kyuubi lay upon and leaned against it. He let his feet slide out from under him, slipping himself into a sitting position with his back his back leaning against the cool stone. He gazed out through the stone spikes and looked at Konoha bustling with life.

_This sure is peaceful._ He said as he sat there. The fox didn't reply. She was too caught up absorbing the sun's rays to hear the blonde's thoughts.

XXX

Hyuuga Hiashi sat in front of the Sandaime Hokage or Konoha. The village leader filled him in on the happenings of the council meeting the night previous after he left the meeting.

"So the Nara, Aburame, Inuzuka and Akimichi clans support Naruto?" The pale-eyed man asked.

"It appears that way." Sarutobi sighed and fingered his pipe. "But as usual, Danzo wants to turn Naruto into a living weapon. He wanted to train him, but the other councilmen shot him down."

"What were you considering if Naruto was to choose the life of a Shinobi?" Hiashi asked.

"That several Jounin and a Chuunin train him jointly." The Third replied. "Hatake Kakashi just came out of the ANBU black ops, a training mission could help him adjust to normal shinobi life."

"Who else?" Hiashi asked.

"You and your clan could help him with his chakra control." Sarutobi stated. "Kakashi would be ninjutsu, a Chuunin named Yuhi Kurenai who is a genjutsu specialist can train him in genjutsu, and Guy is an obvious for taijutsu." The Hokage finished reading a list in his hands.

"With tutors like those, he wouldn't have a choice to become an excellent shinobi." Hiashi stated.

"Indeed." Sarutobi replied. "He'd beceome a force to be reckoned with…just like his father." The Hokage's eyes shot wide open when he realized what he had just slipped out.

"You knew his parents?" Hiashi asked.

The Hokage sighed and rubbed his temples. "Yes." He admitted, "And I know for a fact that they are both dead."

"Who were they?" Hiashi demanded. Sarutobi didn't respond right away. Even without the Byakugan, Hiashi could see through the Hokage's eyes that he was thinking deeply.

Without saying a word, The Third stood up and stepped out from behind his desk. Walking to a bookcase, he scanned the titles until he found what he was looking for. Placing a finger on the top of one spine, he gently pulled the book out and returned to his chair.

"What I am about to show you is an S-class secret." He paused. "After I show this to you, only you, myself and Jiraiya will know this." He opened the book and folded out several pages. Stretching across them was an intricate seal. On an attached page was a simple black box with an old, browned streak of blood inside it.

"That," Sarutobi said to the Hyuuga clan head, "Is my blood. This is a blood seal, similar to a summoning contract, but it is a secure storage seal."

"This is amazingly complicated." Hiashi stated as he examined the seal. "Did Minato design this?"

"No. Jiraiya constructed it after Minato's death to store this document." The Third answered. "Jiraiya has his own copy of the seal and document under his protection."

"Is it possible for me to unseal the document if I were to place my blood here?" Hiashi asked, indicating the area with the Hokage's blood.

"I'm not a seal master like Jirayia, but I would assume so." The Sandaime answered as he bit his thumb and smeared it across the seal while channeling his chakra through it.

There was a cloud of bitter tasting charkra smoke that signified the appearance of the item that was unsealed. When the cloud dispersed a second later Sarutobi quickly handed an official looking document to Hiashi whose eyes widened as he saw the names of Naruto's parents.

_Minato…your own son. Why would you do that to your own son?_ Hiashi demanded silently.

XXX

With the aid of the Byakugan, Hyuuga Hiashi was able to locate Naruto sitting atop the Fourth's head._ A fitting place to think about his future considering who he is._ The Hyuuga clan leader though to himself. _I wonder if Naruto knows himself. After all the Kyuubi heard Minato's last words between father and son._

Hiashi strode over to the blonde boy sleeping silently and found him fast asleep.

"**Do you want me to wake him up?"** The red vixen asked from her perch. Hiashi turned his head upwards to see the fox lying on top of the stone Naruto was sleeping against.

"That would be appreciated." Hiashi replied, still extremely wary of the demon fox.

Without another word the fox stood up and nimbly stretched atop the stone hair of the Fourth. When she was done waking up her muscles, she gripped the stone with her claws and slid down the side, her claws slowing her descent. She landed, belly first on Naruto's head and leaned over to lick his face.

After a moment of licking, Naruto was awake. Irritated by the wet awakening, he reached up and pulled the Kyuubi from her position on his head. Holding her out in front of him at eye level, he scowled while she gave him a toothy grin.

"I should just turn you into a hat." He stated. She squirmed a little in his grip. "You felt quite comfy there."

"**Then maybe I should just make a habit of lying on your head while you walk around Konoha."** She replied with a grin. Naruto sighed and set her on the ground. He was about to ask her why she woke him up, but he spotted Hiashi standing a few meters away.

"I suppose that you asked her to wake me up." He stated as he yawned and stretched his sleepy limbs.

"**I offered."** The Kyuubi spoke up.

"Should have known…" Naruto muttered. "Why did you come here?" He asked.

"My meeting with Hokage-sama finished, so I came looking for you." Hiashi replied. "I don't mean to rush you or anything, but have you made any decisions about your future?"

"Hai!" Naruto replied with the enthusiasm that only a seven-year-old could muster. "I want to become the best shinobi in the world so that the villagers will acknowledge me."

"Is that you reason Naruto?" Hiashi asked.

"Not quite." Naruto answered surprising Hiashi some. "I want to grow strong enough to protect those who get close to me. I also wanna help Kyu-chan get revenge for her family."

"Well, what do you say…shall we go tell Hokage-sama?" Hiashi asked turning to walk down the path towards Konoha.

"Alright!" Naruto chirped and followed the man while the Kyuubi pranced around their heels.

XXX

**Alright!!! I like that chapter. I think that everyone was waiting for the Kyuubi to reveal why she was helping Naruto.**

**Also, should Naruto live with the Hyuuga until he enters the Academy or should he live on his own similar to the anime while maintaining close relations with the Hyuuga?**

**Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter…**

**READ AND REVIEW!!!!**

**~Cyberviper42~**


	4. Chapter 4

**Alright, I'm back with another new chapter of Together or Alone!!!**

**I know that I have not made this point clear before, but right now; we are BEFORE the uchiha massacre. I will still have it happen, but in this story, the timeline will be different than the canon. I don't know when I will have it, but rest assured, it will happen. Also, I'm leaning towards having Naruto live by himself. And I think that I have the perfect scenario for this.**

**READ AND REVIEW!!!**

**Enjoy.**

"Normal speech"

_Thoughts_

**Biju speech**

_**Biju thoughts**_

Chapter 4: Plots and Counterplots

For the second time in just as many days, Naruto stood before the Sandaime Hokage of Konoha Having decided to wait until morning to inform the leader of his decision; Naruto had accompanied Hiashi back to the Hyuuga clan estate. Now he was waiting to hear the Hokage's response to his decision.

"Are you sure about this?" The Third asked.

"Hai, I thought over everything carefully." Naruto replied.

"And knowing full well that a shinobi's life is dangerous, you want to become one." The village's leader stated.

"Yes." Naruto replied. "I want to get strong so that I can help those I care about." Naruto replied, pulling the Kyuubi, who was sitting on his lap, closer to him. She kindly nuzzled his arm, her whiskers tickling him slightly.

"Alright, then you shall be trained to become one of the best Konoha shinobi." Sarutobi declared. "I have arranged for several tutors…" He trained off when the door opened.

All three occupants of the room looked to see an ANBU member standing in the doorway. "I'm sorry to interrupt Hokage-sama, but Uchiha Itachi is here to see you." The ANBU paused a moment. "He said it was important."

"Very well." The Hokage sighed. "Hiashi-san, Naruto-kun, would please wait outside for a moment, this shouldn't take too long, but I'm afraid that this is important."

"Understood, Hokage-sama." Hiashi stated smoothly. "Come, Naruto. We will wait outside."

"Thank you." Sarutobi replied as he stood up to see them out of the room.

As they exited the Hokage's office, a raven-haired teenager entered the office and closed the door, locking it. _That_ somewhat made the Hyuuga clan head uneasy. He had heard some rather…unpleasant…rumors about the Uchiha clan.

XXX-Flashback-XXX Unknown amount of time probably a year or so

"Hiashi-sama." A branch member said respectfully as he bowed low before his clan head.

"Yes?" Hiashi replied. "What is it?"

"As instructed, I have been gathering information on the Uchiha clan." The branch member stated. "You were right to be worried, Hiashi-sama, they're up to something."

"Care to elaborate?" Hiashi asked, raising an eyebrow.

"There isn't much to report, I'm afraid. The Uchiha are being incredibly secretive about something, and I cannot find out what." He looked slightly downcast. "There are certain times when all the Uchiha ninja disappear into the clan estate and do not return to regular duties for at least an hour."

"Anything else?" Hiashi promted. "Every minute detail can lead to major discoveries."

"Hai, Hiashi-sama." The branch member replied respectfully. "I've heard whispers mentioning Hokage-sama after each…well I guess meeting would be the best word for this. Hokage-sama might be targeted in whatever the Uchiha are planning."

"That would make sense." Hiashi murmered. "Thank you for your services. I may need to call upon you to speak with Hokage-sama about this matter, so don't die."

"Hai." The subservient man replied before disappearing out the door.

_Troublesome…_

XXX-End Flashback-XXX

After what seemed like fifteen minutes, the office door opened and the Third motioned for Hiashi and Naruto, with the Kyuubi, to enter. Uchiha Itachi stood smartly at the corner of the Hokage's great wooden desk, waiting for the village leader to return to his seat, which he did as Naruto and Hiashi stood in front of it. The Sandaime Hokage rubbed his temples with a sigh, trying to relieve his headache, but no amount of rubbing would help.

"Itachi-san has revealed some disturbing facts about the Uchiha clan." Sarutobi started. "Haishi-san, we'll talk about them later, but now, we need to talk about Naruto's training."

"Are we going to go through with the schedule we mapped out yesterday?" Hiashi asked.

"Not exactly, Itachi-san will take Kakashi's place." At the Hokage's words, the Kyuubi prowled over to Itachi and began to sniff him over. After several tense seconds, the red fox bobbed her head in approval and everyone, who suddenly found themselves holding their breaths, sighed ever so slightly with relief.

"**He's acceptable."** The vixen stated as she sat down next to Naruto.

Itachi for once in his life was caught off guard. The fox just spoke. Almost immediately his onyx eyes faded to the fully matured first stage of the Sharingan. (**Author's note: This isn't the Mangekyo Sharingan, just the three-coma version of the normal one.**) "What the Hell?!" He swore explosively as he jumped back, pulled out a kunai, and held it in a neutral stance. He could either attack or defend in a moments notice.

"It's quite alright Itachi-san, The Kyuubi isn't going to attack you." The Hokage's words didn't assuage Itachi's fears.

"Are you telling me that the Kyuubi is out of its seal?" Itachi demanded, Sharingan flashing.

"**Brat, for your information, I am not an 'it.' I'm a demon, and more importantly a demon with a heart."** Her words were directed directly towards Itachi, who froze at the sound of her voice again. **"I don't wish you or any of Konoha any harm. The bastard Orochimaru set me up to attack Konoha. He tricked me and this is where it got me."**

"**Also, I have not excaped the damnable seal, but have merely created a body which I control."** As if to prove her point, she grew about a foot taller at the shoulder, making her the size of a retriever. **"All my chakra is sealed within Naruto-kun and he can regulate the amount which I have at my disposal."**

"**Naruto still holds the leash, but it is a little larger than it used to be." **Her words offered the Uchiha prodigy a little comfort.

"So I'm to train Naruto?" Itachi asked, slightly nervous at the prospect with spending time with the strongest demon in existence. Who could blame him? He was still in his early teens and could still remember the image of a huge nine-tailed fox thrashing the land outside Konoha.

Itachi closed his eyes for a moment while Sarutobi replied, "I understand that you are hesitant about being around the Kyuubi. In the eyes of the village, she—" Itachi's eyes flashed open in surprise at the Kyubi's gender. "—has become even worse than what actually happened. The demon has been demonized, as oxymoronic as that sounds."

"I was not aware that the Kyuubi no Kitsune was a she." Itachi stated.

"**Not many are."** Said vixen replied. **"You may call me Kyuubi-san. And don't get any ideas…I hate being called Kyuubi-sama by fools who think that demons can be flattered away with mere human words."**

"Dang…" Naruto said out of the blue.

"**Except you, Naruto-kun."** She nuzzled his leg affectionately. Clearly her time spent sealed within the boy altered her opinion of the blonde.

"Itachi, Naruto will have other teachers before he comes to you. He has to learn the basics first." The wise Hokage leaned his chin against a fist. "Keep me informed. You are dismissed."

"Hai." Itachi snapped to attention smartly before exiting the room quickly.

When he closed the door, Naruto became the center of attention. "So what am I going to learn first?" He asked hungrily.

"Nothing advanced before you are deemed ready for difficult jutsus." Sarutobi stated. Naruto pouted but had the sense to not say anything.

"Most advanced jutsus will kill the user if not properly handled." Hiashi stated. "It's best for you if you wait until you can manage simpler tasks before starting more advanced ones."

"Everything is based on a previous stage of training." Sarutobi stated. "More than likely, you won't get to high level techniques before you enter the Academy."

"Why do I have to go there?" Naruto asked. "With all the training I'm going to receive, why should I relearn the basics?" The blonde boy almost immediately regretted asking the question. Both the Hokage's and Hiashi's faces grew stern.

"Naruto, what is the difference between what yours will be and the Academy?" The Sandaime waited for Naruto's answer, but the boy didn't reply immediately like the wrinkled leader expected. All the more evidence to point to the fact that Naruto was different than any other child his age.

"There will be other students?" Naruto guessed.

"Is that an answer or a question?" Sarutobi asked with a smirk, which was hidden behind his hands clasped in front of him.

"My answer." Naruto replied simply. "What does that have to do with anything? Is it important?"

"Do you think that a shinobi is sent out on missions all alone without any support?" The Sandaime asked the blonde.

"Well…I dunno…" Naruto's unintelligent response earned coughing laugh from the Kuubi.

"Every ninja that Konoha produces has been on a Genin squad." Hiashi explained to Naruto. "Teamwork is an important part of being a shinobi. Teams usually are composed of ninja whose skill sets compliment each others."

"So do these teams stick together after they aren't Genin?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, some do if they are extremely effective as a team." Sarutobi replied. "Your teammates become your closest friends and you usually stay in contact with each other for the rest of your lives."

"Hokage-sama, did you stay with your Genin team for a long time?" Naruto asked.

"I'd rather that you didn't call me such a formal name all the time." Sarutobi replied. "But, yes I still maintain close connections, sometimes strained, but close none the less with my teammates." The Hokage stated.

"Who are they Jiji?" Naruto asked.

"Naruto, show some proper respect for the Hokage." Hiashi said coldly, but the Sandaime only chuckled.

"It's alright Hiashi-san." He replied. "It's rather refreshing to be called something like that."

"But the disrespect…" Hiashi trailed off realizing he wasn't going to sway either the Hokage's or Naruto's mind about the name. "Fine. If that is what you wish Sarutobi-sama."

"We'll have to work on de-formalizing you later, but right now we need to talk about Naruto's training." Sarutobi stated, rescuing the meeting from the tangent.

"So what am I going to learn first Jiji?" Naruto asked excitedly literally vibrating in his seat.

"Chakra control and physical stamina." Sarutobi replied and continued when he saw Naruto pout. "You will be doing exercised to not only get your body ready, but also increase your chakra capacity so you can learn advanced Ninjutsu and Genjutsu later." Naruto perked up at the thought of learning powerful techniques.

"Why can't I just use Kyu-chan's chakra?" Naruto asked.

"**Your body won't be able to circulate my chakra unless you have a larger than normal chakra capacity for it to circulate within." **The Kyuubi stated and then scratched her side.

"There also is a possibility that an enemy could seal her chakra away, and then you wouldn't be able to use your normal techniques and styles." Sarutobi replied. "By increasing your reserves and control, you will ready your body and mind for more training."

"You will be learning these things from me while I also teach Hinata." Hiashi stated. Naruto smiled.

"Thank you." The blonde thanked the white-eyed man.

"You will learn taijutsu from a Jounin by the name of Gai." The Hokage stated. "He is a taijutsu specilist and can teach you the art of hand to hand combat."

"Then there is Uchiha Itachi whom you just met a few minutes ago." Sarutobi continued. "He is probably the second best ninjutsu expert as well as one of the stealthiest ninja in Konoha."

"Who's the best ninjutsu expert?" Naruto asked.

"Me." Sarutobi replied. "But unfortunately I don't have the free time to train you. However I will probably take the liberty of teaching you a few jutsus along the way."

"Oh. I see." Naruto replied somewhat subdued. "But I'll make sure that you teach me something Jiji!"

"Okay then, moving on, you will learn Genjutsu from a Chuunin by the name of Yuhi Kurenai." Sarutobi continued. "Despite her lower status, she is Konoha's best Genjutsu user."

"Is that everything?" Naruto asked.

"By that time, you should be a Genin and going on missions with a team of your own." The Sandaime answered smoothly.

"What if I go faster than that schedule?" Naruto asked.

"We'll worry about that when we get there." Sarutobi replied with a smile.

"Is there anything else to discuss?" Hiashi asked. "I don't wish to waste your valuable time Sarutobi-sama."

"Well, unfortunately paperwork calls." The Hokage replied. "If there is nothing else to discuss, then you are dismissed." He stood up and walked his two guests to the door before returning to his desk and starting on the mountain of paperwork rushed in by his secretary. "What I wouldn't give for help doing this."

XXX

Naruto's trip through the village was a little better than his first entrance with Hinata and her mother. Traveling with a clan head, especially a renowned clan like the Hyuuga, defiantly had its advantages. Everywhere they went, whispers followed them like wildfire.

"_He's mad I tell you…"_

"_The Demon must have brainwashed him…"_

"_There's no way the Hyuuga would stoop so low…"_

"_First that damn fox, now the Hyuuga? The Demon must be getting around the Fourth's seal…We're dead if he stays alive."_ That last statement, except the last part, was truer than the person who uttered it knew. The Kyuubi snickered but ended up sounding like she was trying to cough something up.

_Smooth._ Naruto commented sarcastically, only piquing the fox's irritation.

"**Can it blondie."** She replied, most annoyed, within the safety of Naruto's head. It would not be good if the villagers heard her talking aloud. It would probably start the biggest riot/mob beating in the history of the hidden village. **"I'd like to see you try in my situation. This body isn't exactly the best."**

_Can't you just change your body's size and stuff? _Naruto asked. _I saw you do it in Jiji's office, so why can't you change it so you can snicker properly._

"…………" The demon fox was silent. Naruto actually had a point. **"You're getting too smart for your own damn good. You know that?"**

_It's your own damn fault._ Naruto retorted. _You're the one who taught me._

THAT irritated the Kyuubi no Kitsune too much. With a growl, she nipped Naruto's butt…or rather where his butt had been when she had leapt. Naruto was currently running just beyond her reach in circles around Hyuuga Hiashi. **"I'll get you if it's the last thing I do. You are so dead!"**

_Ano…If I died, wouldn't you as well?_ Naruto asked. _If you want to commit suicide, please don't bring me into the situation. Go hide in a corner and poof back inside me._

"**YOU!…WILL!…PAY!" **The snarling vixen declared in between jumps that narrowly missed Naruto's bottom.

_OOH! _Naruto exclaimed. _Sooo close. I think I felt something that time._

Unfortunatly for Naruto, his butt soon became tenderized when he entered the Hyuuga clan estate. The Kyuubi grew to her maximum size for her current chakra allowance, and tackled Naruto with ease. Resting on top of Naruto, the blood-red fox grinned savagely, revealing a fine set of razor-sharp teeth. **"Got you!"** she growled softly yet happily into the blonde's ear.

Naruto grinned and tried to wrap his arms around the vixen's neck, but found he couldn't. Seven-year-old children don't have very long arms, and the full-size Kyuubi's neck was fairly large. Said fox shrank her form until Naruto could comfortably wrap his arms around her neck.

With a seemingly practiced move, the Kyuubi gripped the scruff of Naruto's clothes in her powerful jaws and gently placed him on her back. Once again wrapping his arms around her neck, Naruto secured himself and grinned as the Kyuubi started to sniff the ground searching for a scent. With her enhanced nose, she quickly found a scent she wanted to follow and began to carefully follow it, constantly searching for her 'prey.'

Naruto grinned as he became caught up in the hunt. Unconsciously he was picking up on the ways the large fox tried to hide her presence, which was quite difficult considering her bulk, but somehow she managed to pad stealthily through the hallways of the clan estate until she suddenly stopped and crouched behind one intersection. Naruto felt her muscles tense as if she was going to pounce on something. Silently half climbing and half sliding off the vixen, Naruto landed on the floor with a low thump and peered around the corner warily. He saw Hinata and her mother walking down the hall and threw himself out of their view. He passed the Kyuubi and found her shrinking her size down to normal.

To say the least, Hinata didn't know what in the world hit her. One moment she was walking with her okasan, the next she was laying on her back with a small weight on her stomach. Daring herself to open her eyes, she saw the blood-red fox sitting on her. Quickly the Kyuubi licked Hinata's cheek.

"Hey Hinata-chan, I think that Kyu-chan likes you." Naruto said with a foxy grin on his face, with one hand scratching the back of his head.

"R-Really?" Hinata asked weakly as the vixen padded over to Naruto's legs. She was blushing slightly and quickly invented several shades of red as Naruto stuck out his hand, offering to help her up. Quick-as-a-flash, she used his help to stand up and then speared at her mother's side, slightly hiding behind on leg.

"Hey, Hinata-chan, you feeling alright?" Naruto asked innocently. "Your face looks a little flush." Turning to Hinata's mother when the girl his age didn't reply and only grew redder. "Is Hinata-chan sick?"

"No she isn't." The kind woman replied. "Maybe you two can go outside and play with Kyu-chan?"

"Okay!" Naruto grabbed Hinata's hand and pulled her down the hall towards the closest door to the grounds so they could play. The Kyuubi pranced down the hall after them with a grin on her face. "Come on Hinata, let's go play!"

Hinata's mother smiled as she watched the two seven-year-olds travel down the hallway and disappear out the door. _So much energy…How nice it would be to be that young again. _Continuing down the path she was following before the foxy interruption, she began to unconsciously rub her belly. Catching herself, she started to sweat just a little. The last time she had done that, Hinata was still inside her womb. Maybe she should gander on over to the hospital later on…

XXX

Danzo was mad. No he was more than mad, he was furious. The damned Sandaime had completely ignored his request to train the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Yoko. Konoha needed that boy's strength for protection. It didn't matter what was sacrificed as long as Konoha was safe from any enemy.

The crippled man limped as fast as he could down a long set of winding stairs. Below Konoha, there was a literal maze of tunnels. Instead of disbanding ROOT like he had been ordered, Danzo had simply relocated it into this secret discovery of his. No one would be able to find it. It was secure, and as long as he ran ROOT, Konoha would be safe as well.

He produced a key from the depths of his robes and inserted it into a crack in the stonewall. He turned it with a firm hand and then replaced it. Proceeding down the stairs he took his first left and then hobbled up a flight of stairs. He closed his eyes as he passed through a strong Genjutsu shield and emerged on the other side in a bustling ROOT command center. Smiling he thought up a brilliant plan to train one Uzumaki Naruto.

XXX

—Time skip of a month—

XXX

One month was a long time for Naruto. In that time he had learned the basics of chakra control from Hyuuga Hiashi as he trained his only daughter, Hinata. While he was a fast learner and quick to pick up techniques like tree walking, Hinata wasn't so fast. As a result Naruto found himself doing running errands around the Hyuuga clan estate. Although boring, it was still training and he was being useful to the clan at the same time, a win-win scenario in Naruto's eyes. Naruto also trained with the nine-tailed fox when Hiashi had to attend meetings or deal with village business. He picked up the basics of stealth and soon found it easier to move about Konoha while moving in non-conspicuous ways.

As he continued to improve, he gathered the courage to brave the hidden village alone without any company. He found it thrilling when people didn't stare at him with hatred or tried to kill him. In fact, he felt relieved that they didn't pay any attention to him. He was able to collect broken kunai and shuriken discarded among the training fields and sell them to Daren, bringing in some money that he could use for things other than food and essentials that were provided for by the Hyuuga clan.

As soon as he had enough money, Naruto treated himself to a bowl of Ramen from the stand he had visited with Hinata and her mother, the first day they had met. The enjoyed the flavor and filling qualities of the food, and was now visiting there at least once a day.

Even though Hinata took longer to learn chakra control, she was much better than Naruto. Hiashi praised her efficiency and took pride in teaching her. That teaching probably saved her life.

A week before, some representatives from Kumo had visited Konoha to sign a peace agreement to end the war between the hidden villages.

XXX—Flashback—XXX

Hinata woke up in the middle of the night. Something didn't seem right. She had been dreaming contently when suddenly she woke up gasping for breath. She was nervous. Nothing looked out of order in her room as she scanned it with her pale lavender eyes. Clasping her hands together in a generic hand seal, she activated her bloodline limit—the Byakugan. Under it's careful gaze nothing could be hidden, and what it revealed startled her. Standing above her with his feet attached to the wall with chakra, stood a ninja.

He held a burlap sac in one hand and with the other; he reached to grab the Hyuuga heiress. But he never had the chance to touch the frightened girl. With her body acting by instinct, she rolled off her bed with a thump and ran to her door, only to find the same ninja blocking her path. Without pausing or hesitating, she ran through his legs and kicked him where they joined with as much force as her small body could muster.

Not needing to turn her head to see the ninja fall to the ground withering in agony due to her bloodline limit, she threw open her door and simply screamed. If you were watching the Hyuuga estate from the outside, the rooms around Hinata's suddenly burst with light. However on the far side of the housing, a huge explosion reverberated through Konoha.

Hyuuga Hizashi burst from his room at the same time his twin brother did from his respective room. They looked at each other. "I'll look after Hinata. You find out what caused that explosion." Hizashi nodded, obeyed his brother's order and dashed down the halls in the opposite direction than Hiashi. Both brothers cursed silently as they activated their Byakugan. Whoever had the guts to attack the Hyuuga clan was either insane or incredibly strong.

Hiashi found his daughter struggling to get free from a ninja dressed from head to toe in black. On the ground there was a burlap sac discarded as the ninja struggled to subdue Hinata. Closing the distance between in a fraction of a second, Hiashi delivered a well-placed Gentle Fist blow to the man's chest, knocking him out, saving his daughter. Hinata clamped to her father with desperation, seeking protection.

With one hand reassuring his daughter, Hiashi used his other hand to remove the ninja's facemask. Immediately he recognized one of the Kumo delegates that he had met earlier that day. Checking to make sure the man's vitals were stable, he marveled at how many bruises, cuts and scrapes, and bites Hinata had given the man. He also saw severe damage to the man's crotch and quickly deactivated his bloodline limit as other members of the Hyuuga clan arrived on scene,

Meanwhile, Hizashi arrived at the site of the explosion to find Naruto wreathed in a flowing, red chakra shaped like a fox with a single tail. At his feet was a body dressed completely in black. Or at least he was when he first came into the blonde's room. At the moment the ninja was near death with half of his clothes torn off, exposing white skin beneath. Upon further inspection, Hizashi saw that the intruder was a female with a rather large chakra network.

Hiashi's twin's inspection was interrupted when the chakra surrounding Naruto swirled into his stomach. The blonde seven-year-old promptly fell down as if he was a puppet whose strings had just been severed. With the speed of a seasoned Konoha shinobi, Hizashi caught the unconscious boy before he had the chance to slam into the ground.

After setting Naruto on the broken floor carefully, Hizashi continued to inspect the female intruder. He removed her mask and found himself looking at the kunoichi in awe. This was none other than Nii Yugito, Junchuuriki of the two-tailed cat, the Nibi. _No this has to be a mistake._ Hizashi thought to himself. _There was no way Kumo would send her after Naruto…unless they knew about the Kyuubi._ _And during a peace talk too!_ Things just got a lot more complicated. And it wasn't pretty.

**Alright!!!! Glad I finished this chapter. I've wanted to have the attempt on Hinata happen, but just so people know, I've altered the timeline to fit my story. In case that wasn't blatantly obvious from the story itself, I wanted to clear up any possible confusion…**

**Also, I hope that people like my introduction of the Kyuubi to Itachi. I think Naruto's training, along with the Kumo crisis is going to be very interesting indeed…=)**

**READ AND REVIEW!!!!**

**~Cyberviper42~**


	5. Chapter 5: Aftermath

**Howdy! Howdy! Howdy! Here comes the fifth chapter of Together or Alone!!! Nii Yugito will have a role in this story, but I'm not sure how at the present moment. I write what comes to mind. **

**Itachi will play an ever more important role in this and coming chapters, so please be patient, all you Itachi fans out there.**

**I would like to announce that I would like to know what pairings you would like to see in this story. If there are enough votes for a pairing and if it would work with the way the plot is going, I will use it.**

**This is your chance to influence the story. Please keep votes to guy/girl. I will not write anything other than that. VOTE ON THE PAIRING YOU WANT TO SEE!!!**

**Just pop it into a review and tell me how I'm doing so far.**

**Also, should Kushina still be alive? Should Sasuke be a friend/rival of Naruto? Should the Uchiha Massacre happen? Tell me what you think. I could probably write the story wither way for each case.**

**Don't got anything else to write here…so!**

**READ AND REVIEW!!!!**

**Enjoy.**

"Normal speech"

_Thoughts_

**Biju speech**

_**Biju thoughts**_

Chapter 5: Aftermath

Naruto and Hinata stood side-by-side concentrating on manipulating their chakra. On each of their foreheads a leaf sat as if glued in place. In reality, they were held on with chakra. The 'leaf exercise' to which the two seven-year-olds were being subjected to was standard Genin training. To be able to successfully complete the training exercise at their age was quite a feat. Hiashi was practically glowing with pride when he saw his daughter training hard as he passed the door to the Hyuuga training hall.

Oh, did I mention they were hanging up side down from the ceiling? With chakra gluing them to the ceiling, the leaf exercise became even more complicated. While having to regulate the flow of Chakra in their feet, which is the hardest place to manipulate the body's energy, they had to gently hold a leaf to their forehead. The contrast of lots of chakra to hold the pair to the ceiling, to the minimal amount of chakra the two could manipulate, made the trial Naruto and Hinata even harder.

Hinata's membership of the Hyuuga clan meant that she had an easier time manipulating her chakra. For centuries the Hyuuga had used chakra manipulation as their main mode of attack, thus it became a hereditary trait to be able easily manipulate their chakra.

On the other hand, Naruto had only managed to attain a comparable level of chakra control through intense training. His enhanced chakra reservoirs that he received from the Kyuubi made controlling his chakra extremely difficult.

"Oi! Hinata-chan?" Naruto broke the silence for the first time in an hour of training.

"H-Hai?" Hinata stuttered. "W-what is i-it?"

"Ano, you want to take a break?" Naruto asked. "I could use something to drink and maybe a bowl or three of ramen."

Hinata giggled as Naruto's eyes dimmed and he started to drool at the thought or ramen. He was rudely disturbed when some drool fell down his nose. Remember he was hanging up side down. His choking threw his concentration and control out the window. First his leaf fell off his head. After frantically trying to catch it as it fluttered farther away, his feet began to unglue from the high ceiling. "Ah! Ah! AAAHHHHH!" Naruto cried out as he felt him self detach from the ceiling, seemingly hang in mid-air for a split second, and then plummet to the floor below. Landing with a sickening crunch, a stunned Jinchuuriki lay in a heap mumbling rubbish about ramen in a dreamy voice.

"N-Naruto-kun?" Hinata called out uncertainly. When he didn't respond the windows on the building rattled when Hinata shouted: "NARUTO-KUN!!!!" Still with enough sense to walk down the walls and re-orient herself with the floor sans a crash, Hinata rushed to the blonde's side.

After a minute of poking and prodding a motionless Naruto, the blonde sat up, rather shakily, but under his own power. "Oww!" Naruto moaned as he rubbed an already rising bump on the back of his head. "Stupid harder than rock floor!"

"I-I'm glad t-that you're a-alright N-Naruto-kun." Hinata said with a slight blush.

"Ano, Hinata-chan, I like it better when you don't stutter." Naruto stated while Hinata blushed even more. "You sound cutter when you talk normally."

_**She's got it for you BAD, kit.**_ The red vixen snickered as she peaked through the doorway. _**And you don't even notice…how cute!**_

"Hai." Hinata replied blushing furiously, producing colors or red that painters only dreamed of. "I-I'll try harder."

"Great!" Naruto exclaimed. "Let's go get something to drink. I'm parched!"

"Okay." Hinata said as she stood up as composed as she could, even thought she was blushing like crazy.

The pair exited the training hall and headed to the dining facilities for the clan. The Hyuuga clan estate was a miniature village on it's own. It had houses for families, training facilities, dining facilities, and even a general store where clan members could purchase basic necessities with either pre-paid balances or with cash on the spot.

XXX

With his Byakugan activated Hiashi could watch his daughter and Naruto stroll into the dining hall. While Naruto was a wild bundle of energy, Hinata was constantly a picture of utmost control—typical for a Hyuuga. To say that he enjoyed watching them would be an understatement. In contrast to doing paperwork, the seeming scourge of every leader, watching his daughter train exhaustively was always enjoyable.

It was nice to know that at such a young age, his daughter was already showing signs of the maturity needed to lead the Hyuuga clan. Having one's destiny set at birth always rubbed against both Hiashi's and Hizashi's grain in every possible manner. They were a prime example of the injustices done by past clan leaders.

They were twins and the only reason Hiashi was now the clan head was because he was born first. Because of that, his brother had been branded with the caged bird seal. With Neji being born a year before Hinata, Hiashi got to experience the full force of the elder's influence over the matter of branding Neji with the seal.

Hiashi refused while the elders insisted on the matter. It was tradition, they claimed, and it couldn't be broken. It wasn't until Hiashi threatened those with the seals with activation and those without the seal with branding, that he finally was able to ensure little Neji's freedom from his father's fate. For that, he had his brother's unwavering support, which Hiashi greatly appreciated.

Glaring at his paperwork with the Byakugan, simply willing the pile of paper to disappear, Hiashi wearily released his bloodline limit and started to work on the first document. It was a message from the Hokage's office calling for a meeting of the council to discuss the recent incident with Kumo. Troublesome…

XXX

"Neji-nii-san!" Hinata cried out as she entered the dining hall and spotted her older cousin sitting all alone. The entire dining hall was empty save some kitchen staff who were cooking for the noon time meal.

"Hinata-sama." Neji replied respectfully. "Naruto-san. What brings you here now?" The slightly older Hyuuga asked.

"We just finished a training session so we came to get something to drink." Naruto replied for the two of them.

"I-I thought you wanted r-ramen too." Hinata stated with many fewer stutters than earlier.

"Well, I only get it from that stand near the Hokage's tower." Naruto replied. "They're the best." He grinned as if he was embarrassed. "And I kinda forgot I don't have any money left over from my last scrap hunting." He scrathed the back of his head out of habit but quickly howled in pain as he bumped the spot where he had landed just a few minutes earlier.

After rushing into the kitchen, the blonde boy returned a minute later holding a tray with two light sandwiches, two tall glasses of water, and holding a back of ice to the back of his head. Hinata had sat down next to Neji, so Naruto sat across from the cousins muttering about high ceilings. After removing a sandwich and a glass for himself, he gently slid the try over to Hinata so she could use it as a placemat.

Muching happily, Naruto saw that Hinata was constantly staring at him. Whenever he 'caught' the heiress, she would immediately look down, blush and poke her index fingers together. _Kyu-chan, why does she do that?_ Naruto asked innocently.

"**Can't tell." **The nine-tailed demon replied. **"It's a secret."**

_NANI??!! _Naruto exclaimed nearly deafening the fox. _You're a part of me, how can you hold something like that a secret from me._ Mentally, Naruto sniffed, and gave the red vixen a taste of his puppy eyes.

_**Damn those eyes…**_**"I can't tell you because Hinata will tell you in time." **The Kyuubi replied, trying to resist Naruto'e puppy eyes. **"It would ruin the moment for her if I told you now. Do you WANT to hurt Hinata's feelings?"**

_NO! _Naruto retorted. _Of course not…fine I'll wait for her to tell me. But it's time for you to come out._ Under the table, Naruto quickly formed the seals needed to give his tenant a body to use. When the jutsu was complete, a small, red fox sat in front of Naruto's feet. There was no smoke or noise as she appeared; only indicating that Naruto's control was gaining better control of his chakra and the jutsu. Summoning the Kyuubi at least two or three times an hour constantly improved his mastery of the jutsu. He had read that if a ninjutsu or genjutsu is used often enough and a lot, the user will gradually gain the ability to use the techniques without hand signs.

The Kyuubi nipped Naruto's shin and proceeded to climb up the blonde's leg, side, and chair until she sat on the table looking content. Hinata grabbed the fox without hesitation and pulled the vixen onto her lap where she immediately began scratching the Kyuubi behind her ears. The red fox immediately relaxed and began to purr like a cat. Neji scoffed at the Kyuubi's response while Hinata cooed.

"Oi! Kyu-chan you traitor!" Naruto said with a sniffle, causing the atmosphere to lighten. Neji smirked while Hinata giggled and scratched the vixen more.

"**Ahh. A little more to the left."**

Hinata obliged but stopped short and screamed. "SHE TALKED! SHE TALKED!" Both Neji and Hinata literally jumped out of their seats and settled into Gentle Fist stances.

"Of course she does." Naruto stated, sweating slightly trying to figure out how to get out of the situation.

"She isn't really a fox is she?" Neji stated; trying to figure out what the hell the red fox sitting in front of him was.

"**Gaki, I'm insulted."** She stuck her nose into the air while Naruto slumped in his seat. **"I'm the queen of foxes. Normally I look like this…"** She morphed into a miniature nine-tailed fox before continuing. **"…But I'm sure you can imagine what people would do if they saw me like this."**

"S-So you are T-The Kyuubi no Kitsune?" Hinata asked, obviously scared. "Is that how you knew how to fight?"

"**DING! DING! DING! Give the vixen a cookie!"** The Kyuubi replied. **"You got it sister." **Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, sweat dropped at the Fox Queen's reply.

"Kyu-chan, quit acting all weird." Naruto moaned as he sat face down on the table.

XXX

Hiashi was about to finish his paperwork for the day when he felt a pulse of demon chakra. It was close but weak. So weak, it was almost like he was just imagining things. He looked at the final document. Why not put it off and investigate. Smiling at the excuse he had just made for himself, he stood up and stretched quickly. Sitting in a chair for hours on end didn't do any good for his muscles.

Setting his face in a neutral expression, he swept out of his office and headed towards the dining facilities where he felt the pulse. He arrived at the door to see Naruto try to grab the Kyuubi who skillfully evaded the blonde's efforts. Both Hinata and Neji were standing in a basic on-guard Gentle Fist stance looking at the duo warily.

"I see you've made your introduction." Hiashi stated as he walked through the doorway.

"Hello father." Hinata didn't look away from the Kyuubi. Hiashi looked at the two Hyuuga and saw that their bloodline limit was activated, granting them 360-degree vision.

"Greetings Hiashi-sama." Neji stated a moment later.

"You don't need to worry about Kyuubi-san." At this both Neji and Hinata turned to look at Hiashi in amazement.

"Father, you know what she did…" Hinata began.

"I do and I know why." Hiashi's statement hit the Hyuuga children hard.

"You've talked with her then?" Neji asked and stated at the same time.

"With Naruto and the Hokage present." Hiashi replied. "We were trying to figure out why she wasn't attacking Konoha if she could get out."

"Get out of what father?" Hinata asked.

"You've been told that the Yondaime defeated the Kyuubi no Kitsune about seven years ago at the cost of his own life." Hiashi stated.

"**He sealed me inside Naruto-kun with a forbidden technique."** The fox darted through Naruto's guard and lifted his shirt up with one paw. Placing a second on the blonde's belly, she sent a minute pulse of chakra into him, revealing the seal.

Hinata was the first to lower her guard and when Neji saw that both Hiashi and Hinata seemed to trust the demon, then he too lowered his guard and sat back down. "So you aren't a demon like the villagers yell that you are." Neji stated.

"**Obviously not, Gaki." **The Kyuubi stated. **"My presence alone should be enough to confirm that. You're the genius of the Hyuuga clan, use your brains for once today."** That insult wounded Neji's pride to no end.

"At least you can see the difference between the human and the demon living together." Hiashi said to Neji trying to cheer him up a little. "There's a whole village of people along with many shinobi that don't have the brains to understand what you see."

"Th-That's right Neji-nii-san." Hinata said to her cousin.

"Getting a little familiar with each other ehh? What's the next step?" Hiashi joked and inwardly smiled with amusement as Hinata and Neji spewed the water they had been drinking, directly on Naruto and the Kyuubi.

"Father!"

Hiashi-sama I beg to differ."

"**Thank's for the shower."** The Kyuubi muttered and then began to shake herself dry, further soaking Naruto to the bone.

"Why am I always on the loosing end on these things?" Naruto cried to no one in particular as he felt the cold spray

XXX

The Sandaime Hokage of Konoha smirked as he saw Hinata and Neji come to accept both the blonde and the fox sealed inside him. Children who could understand Naruto would only help him. The fact that they were Hyuuga and practically royalty only made Naruto's position better in the future.

Unfortunatly for the Hokage, not everything was going as swimmingly for him as it was for Naruto. The Uchiha clan was defiantly up to something. They were holding regular clan meetings for longer than they used to. In fact, it seemed as if they accomplished less and less in these meetings that normal. Uchiha efficiency was usually impeccable, but now it was a clue to something being amiss.

Tiredly he began to think of the possibilities present to him in dealing with the matter. The ones that he could think up didn't sit well with him. After all, killing a clan is a big deal.

Sighing he put the matter to rest in order to move on to more pressuring things. Like the Kumo attack…

Something seemed wrong as he reviewed the facts. No one on the patrols noticed anything in the hours and minutes before the fighting began. Even that statement seemed awkward. The ANBU were the crème of the crème and they couldn't detect a _JINCHUURIKI's_ presence? Even while unconscious in the ANBU prison, the kunoichi exuded power. Even a chuunin could sense her power, so why didn't the ANBU find her.

Sarutobi walked out of his office still pondering these things and strode down the halls of the Hokage tower. The council was meeting a floor below the Hokage's office to discuss the recent and bellicose actions against Konoha.

XXX

As soon as Sarutobi swept into the room, the other members of the council stood in respect and waited for the leader of Konoha to sit before they did likewise. "I would like to call this meeting to order." The Hokage rumbled. "Anyone like to give a recap of what happened?"

Danzo raised his one good arm and then spoke. "Kumo has recently engaged in offensive actions against the village during a time of peace. In addition to attempting to kidnap Hyuuga Hinata, the Heir to the Hyuuga clan, they also attempted to spirit away the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki. During their assault on the Hyuuga clan estate, both targets defended themselves against one jounin and one Jinchuuriki from Kumo."

"After aid arrived, both Kumo nin were subdued and captured. The only damages were to a small section of the Hyuuga clan estate where the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki was residing." Danzo finished with his statement and fell silent.

"In the future, I request that Uzumaki Naruto not be referred to as the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki. He is a human being and has a name." Hiashi spoke up. "In addition by brother found the Nibi Jinchuuriki, Nii Yugito unconscious at Naruto's feet when he arrived. Other than that, I have nothing further to add to Danzo's statement.

"Very well." Sarutobi said. "If anyone wishes to refer to a Jinchuuriki, please use the person's name." Danzo's eyes narrowed, as he knew this was deliberately pointed at him. "Now, please tell me what your opinion is about what Konoha should do in response to the recent events. I don't care what it is, just tell me."

"Retaliate with military assaults, targeting key support installations that Kumo relies on." Danzo immediately stated and then allowed others to speak.

"Imprison the Kumo shinobi and interrogate them for further information." Uchiha Fugaku stated. "I believe that we may be able to learn of gaps in our defenses if we learn how they snuck into Konoha. This would be a great asset to our general security."

"We need to gain a non-threatening relationship with Kumo." Inuzuka Tsume stated. "I think that we should interrogate them mildly to see if we can sniff out any useful information. After that we release them to Kumo after a treaty is finalized."

"I think that our standing with Kumo would be better if we simply released them to Kumo and escorted them to the boarder." Akimichi Chouza added to the growing list of opinions.

"We can release the jounin to Kumo to gain some good faith, but keep Nii Yugito." Nara Shikaku stated. "Uzumaki Naruto is an enigma because he is a Jinchuuriki. The Biju sealed inside humans have generally been used to wage destructive war, but as of now, Naruto's only training will be from normal shinobi. This is a chance for him to receive jinchuuriki training from another jinchuuriki."

"I agree with Shikaku-san's proposal, but must add that all of Uzumaki's training with Yugito be under the supervision of an elite jounin for a probation period." Aburame Shibi added to Nara Shikaku's idea. "This would be to make sure Uzumaki Naruto is learning beneficial things."

"She would also have to be under ANBU supervision at all times seeing as she could possibly be a threat to Konoha." Uchiha Fugaku stated.

" Don't have any other idea to Shikaku-san's, Shibi-san's and Fugaku-san's proposition." Hiashi stated lastly. "I'm sure that you, Danzo-san, would agree that Naruto needs training when it comes to the issue of the Kyuubi. I can see nothing wrong with the idea."

"Does anyone else have anything else to add to be considered?" Sarutobi asked the council. No one said anything in reply to his question. "Very well than, since several seemed to like the idea of releasing the Kumo jounin, while keeping Nii Yugito, it shall be put to a vote."

Pausing and taking a deep breath, calming breath, the Sandaime Hokage put the matter to a vote. "All those in favor of following the previously mentioned course of action, please raise your hand." Hiashi raised his hand along with Shikaku, Shibi, and Fugaku. Sarutobi raised his hand as well

"All those against this course of action, please raise your hand." Danzo raised his only good arm to shoulder level to make his vote clear, followed by Tsune and Chouza.

"Very well then, by a vote of five to three, the Kumo Jounin will be released, given a message to carry to Kumo, and be escorted to the border by a squad of ANBU. Nii Yugito, on the other hand, will remain in Konoha under ANBU supervision for a probation period of a year. She will also train Uzumaki Naruto in the ways of the Jinchuuriki and how to do battle with a Biju. This training will be under the supervision of at least one elite jounin, in addition to the ANBU squad assigned to shadow her."

"What troublesome accommodations will we provide Nii Yugito?" Shikaku asked, sounding board out of his mind. "We can't have her living in prison all the time, and I doubt that there is a family willing to welcome an enemy shinboi into their house."

Danzo and several others looked at Hiashi longer than the pupil-less man liked. "May I help you?" He asked in a dangerous, calm and cold voice.

"I thought that you would be the first to welcome this one into your home like the last one." Danzo said with a small smile.

"That's quite enough Danzo, you may excuse yourself from this table." The Sandaime's eyes had hard steel in them, making it known to the crippled old man the dangerous territory he was standing in. "I feel that your presence is no longer welcome."

Danzo didn't reply or make any indication that he had heard the Hokage, except that he slowly stood up and hobbled out of the room. When he closed the door, a chill that no one had previously noticed, vanished. It was as if Danzo was the one exuding coldness throughout the entire meeting.

"What message shall we send to Kumo with the jounin we release?" Tsume asked, glad that the war-obsessed cripple, *cough* Danzo *cough*, had left the room. Everyone unconsciously became more relaxed and comfortable without him there.

"A simple letter of our intentions and wishes for peace should suffice." Hiashi stated. "I don't think that they need a wordy explanation. They are, after all, the ones who could have ignited the Fourth Shinobi War."

"I concur with Hiashi-san." Aburame Shibi stated in a monotone, not an ounce of emotion in his voice or his posture. He was the very image of cold, calculating logic. "Anything more than detaining Nii Yugito and, by conjunction, the Nibi sealed within her, could potentially create an unstable inter-village situation. Anything more than a simple yet effective message conveying our intents could incite anger against Konoha."

"Are there any objections to this plan?" Sarutobi asked. When no one raised a hand or made his or her opinion in the matter known, he concluded the meeting. "Then I shall have a letter drafted and ready by morning. At which time, Nii Yugito will be released from the ANBU prison should she prove herself to be in agreement with our decision. If not, then she shall remain in prison and under interrogation. Should she prove receptive to our plan; then she shall be told of her probation period, trainee and be given a small apartment to stay in."

"Are there anymore troublesome issues to discuss?" Nara Shikaku asked lazily, not even bothering to hide his want to leave the meeting. "Or can we adjourn for now?"

"Nothing comes to mind." The Sandaime Hokage replied. "Is there a motion to adjourn?"

"So made." Shikaku called out.

"Seconded." Akimichi Chouza stated, already rubbing an obviously empty stomach.

"Meeting adjourned until the next call." Sarutobi formally finished the meeting and watched the other members of the council file out of the meeting room. Sighing he gathered up his notes, and other documents and stuffed them into a folder. He swept out of the room and slowly made his way back up the stairs to his office. He was glad that the meeting had gone as smoothly as it had. There were some meetings where Danzo would make a fuss and then everyone would be arguing for hours on relatively simple issues.

Sighing again he sat down behind his desk and sank into his chair. Now he just had to write a letter to Kumo…and not start a war in the process.

XXX

Naruto was estatic when he learned he was finally ready for ninjutsu training. After coming home from the council meeting last night, Hiashi tested both Naruto and Hinata and declared that they were ready to move on in their training.

Hinata would stay with her father and uncle to learn the Gentle Fist, the traditional style of the Hyuuga clan, which brought out the full potential of the Byakugan. Naruto, on the other hand, would go to the Uchiha compound and find his new sensei, Uchiha Itachi, the prodigy of the Uchiha clan.

"NANI!! You're telling me that Scardy-Uchiha is an ANBU?" Naruto was shocked to say the least. "Bu-Bu-But he was absolutely scared of Kyu-chan!"

"**He had good reason to be."** The Kyuubi scoffed as she gloated at knowing the Uchiha was scared of her. _**About time somebody realized how awesome I am.**_ **"I'm not the strongest demon for nothing."**

"Yeah, but still, you looked like a normal fox at the time." Naruto retorted.

"**But I spoke aloud." **The Vixen replied. **"Only summons or those ****Inuzuka dogs can talk."**

"So why didn't he think that you were a summon?" Naruto asked.

"Because there isn't a fox summoning contract, Naruto." Hiashi said as he walked into the room where Naruto and the Kyuubi were talking. The blonde and the fox were sitting on one couch, while Hinata and Neji sat on another couch playing shogi (SP?).

"But what if she was henged into a fox while really being some other summoning?" A curious blonde asked.

"**No self-respecting animal summon would allow themselves to be henged into another animal unless needed for in battle."** Summonings have a sense of pride that humans seem to forget all the time.

"Oh…" Naruto replied.

"There are times when the summonigs are more the master than the summoner." Hiashi added. "In addition, summons require a gift of some sort for their services. They are partners, not servents."

"So kinda like Kyu-chan and I?" Naruto asked.

"**Similar." **The red fox replied as she curled up on the blonde's nap.

CLICK! FLASH! "Awe, what a perfect moment. All four of you look so cute." Hinata's mom, who Naruto found out was named Hana, crooned over the three young children and one absolutely adorable millennia-old demon fox.

"GAHH!!! I'M BLIND!" Naruto staggered around the room wildly trying to rub the after-images from his eyes. The Kyuubi was sprawled unceremoniously on the ground, with her tail significantly higher than her head.

Hinata giggled at the sight while Neji sighed. Although the blonde was worth keeping around, he did have moments where Neji questioned his uncle's decision. The flashes and clicks kept coming until Hana ran out of film in her camera. Taking pictures of the children was a lot of fun, and offered countless blackmailing opportunities when they grew older.

"Hana-san!" Moaned Naruto as his vision began to return to normal. "Why?"

"Because it was fun." She replied with a smile.

"…grrrrr…" Naruto's replied. Hana rubbed his head affectionately before hugging Hinata and saying hello to her stoic nephew. Neji wasn't one for hugging and other displays of emotion. He was a miniature version of his father, but slightly more formal.

"I just wanted to tell you that diner will be ready in half an hour, so wash up and get ready." Hana's statement was replied with a chorus of "Hai!" as two boys, a girl, and a fox jumped past the mother on their way to get ready for diner.

"It's nice seeing them get along so well." Hana said as she hugged her husband. Hiashi kissed his wife on her head and buried his nose into her hair, holding her even closer to his chest.

"It's almost as if they are all siblings." Hiashi commented.

"Hmmm…" Hana replied into Hiashi's chest.

"Are you comfortable with an Uchiha training Naruto?" Hana asked her husband as she pulled out of the embrace enough to speak.

"Sarutobi-sama feels that Itachi is honorable and devoted to Konoha before his clan." Hiashi replied. "And quite frankly, I agree." That startled his wife, but she didn't show it. "He revealed that the Uchiha clan is plotting against the Hokage. It confirmed the rumors that I had heard, and he is currently investigating who is behind the move, and who is involved."

"So he'd do practically anything for Konoha?" Hana asked. "That sounds an awful lot like Danzo and his ROOT ANBU."

"I know, but he is reporting directly to the top and I feel that he may be loyal to those who show him kindness." Hiashi stated.

"So he is like Naruto?"

"I would think so, but not so openly." Hiashi replied. But then whispered into his wife's ear about Nii Yugito and her potential training of Naruto.

If either one of his new senseis decided to harm Naruto, there wasn't much that the blonde would be able to do, reasoned Hana. A well trained Jinchuuriki and the Uchiha prodigy. Both strong shinobi came from factions that didn't like the Hyuugas. Someone might just try to take revenge on the Hyuugas by harming Naruto. It was a possibility, after all.

Dinner that night was quieter than normal, but that was to be expected. Hinata and Naruto were at important transition points in their ninja training. Both seven-year-olds went to bed early so they could be ready for whatever tomorrow brought.

**Okay!!! Another chapter down! I look forward to bringing another update soon, so please pop me a review to tell me how I am doing so far, and how I can improve the future chapters.**

**A reminder once again, I am currently asking for people's favorite pairings and which ones they would like to see. I'll be tallying the votes and which ever has the highest number of votes will more than likely be incorporated into the story.**

**Just so you know, this is not a poll on my page since I cannot get it to work, so please just use the review button a few inches below your eyes.**

**As Always:**

**REVIEW!!!!!**

**~Cyberviper42~**


	6. Chapter 6: ScardieSensei

**Did you miss me? I hope you did and were looking forward to the sixth chapter of Together or Alone. You can stop tearing up because this is the real thing…=)**

**The voting is still not closed. It will not close until I start forming the pairings probably around the time Naruto gets to the Academy. But don't let that keep you from voting NOW! Pop in a review with the pairing you want to see and even the ones you don't want to see. Just remember to KEEP IT GUY/GIRL. Even though this is rated M, I WILL NOT GO THERE.**

**Here are the votes as they stand as of May 21, 2009 roughly 3:00 pm EST**

**Votes for Pairs:**

**Naruto/femKyuubi-----5**

**Naruto/Hinata-----3**

**Shikamaru/Temari-----1**

**Neji/Tenten-----1**

**Iruka/Shizune-----1**

**Kakashi/Anko-----1**

**Choji/Ino-----1**

**Naruto/Yugito-----1**

**Votes for Harem:**

**Naruto/femHaku/Hinata-----1**

**Naruto/femKyuubi/Yugito/Nibi-----2**

**Naruto/Hinata/FemKyuubi/Temari-----1**

**Naruto/FemKyuubi/Yugito-----2**

**Naruto/FemKyuubi/Kurenai-----5**

**Here's the chapter:**

**READ AND REVIEW!!!!**

**Enjoy.**

"Normal speech"

_Thoughts_

**Biju speech**

_**Biju thoughts**_

Chapter 6: Scardie-Sensei

Naruto woke up the next morning to the incessant ringing of his alarm clock. He was about to use a chakra re-enforced right hand smash to shut it up, but a red paw beat him to it. Instead of creating property damage, the vixen simply tapped it with lightening-quick reflexes; milliseconds before the blonde's fist could even begin to move.

Naruto stretched to wake up his stiff muscles and tried to get out of bed, but found the Kyuubi still sleeping on his thighs. "Oi, you! Wake up! We have to meet my new sensei!"

"**Five more minutes." **The ancient nine-tailed demon begged. Half asleep she flicked her tail towards Naruto trying to shush him up.

"We've got to go." Naruto said firmly, trying to reason with the red furball in front of and on top of him. "I think there's bacon for breakfast!"

"**Why didn't you say so sooner?"** The Kyuubi asked, already opening the door to the hallway. **"Come on slow-poke! That bacon is calling to me." **She took a few sniffs of hallway air before giving the blonde a toothy grin. **"You're right, and that meat's got my name written all over it."**

Naruto was stumbling around his room trying to dress as quickly as possible. Eventually he wound up with his shirt on backwards, but decided that it was good enough. In a flash he was racing the Kyuubi down the hall, narrowly missing members of the Hyuuga clan, who simply froze as they saw the pair running towards them. It had long since been discovered that freezing was the best way to avoid being trampled by the duo.

The Kyuubi nosed ahead around a bend that Naruto had some difficulty with. It was a sharp right angle, and the only thing keeping him from smashing into the opposing wall, was his use of the walls to rebound off of using chakra. It was as if he was going around a banked turn, but a little more awkward, thus the Kyuubi's marginal lead. She had a lighter mass, and thus was affected much less by centripetal forces.

Literally nose-to-nose, Naruto and the Kyuubi sprinted into the dining hall where Hiashi and Hizashi usually ate their breakfast with their family and Naruto. This morning, piles of bacon, eggs, and hash browns lined the center of the table. Naruto zipped to his chair where two plates sat. On the first one he piled a liberal portion of the crunchy meat and set it before the Kyuubi who sat under his chair.

Once she was happily munching away, Naruto piled all three breakfast items onto his plate, lathered the scrambled eggs with syrup** (Author's Note: This tastes VERY GOOD!!!)**, and poured himself a tall glass or orange juice.

The other members of the Hyuuga clan chuckled at the duo's excitement over such a simple thing as breakfast. Despite their abrupt and often noisy arrival, they were well behaved once food was placed in front of them. This was absolutely insisted upon by Hana who fussed over every mess the children made. Hizashi's wife Hisha, was starting to show a bulge in her midsection. Upon further investigation with anyone's Byakugan, it was clear she was pregnant. She sat next to her husband while Naruto, Hinata, and Neji sat next to each other. It was a happy family that Naruto felt he could say he was a part of.

Clearing his throat, Hiashi garnered everyone's attention. "Today marks a step towards becoming powerful ninja for both Hinata and Naruto." He smiled at the two seven-year-olds sitting side-by-side. "Hinata will continue to study under me but will be learning more of our clan techniques." Looking at Naruto he continued. "On the other hand, Naruto's training with the Hyuuga clan has come to a close and will be moving on to a sensei that Hokage-sama has handpicked."

"Congratulations." Was the general murmur around the table. Naruto and Hinata smiled at the recognition of their achievements.

"Naruto, when you are done, I have to talk with you. I received a message from Hokage-sama about your training." Hiashi's voice was not angry or any other emotion, it was neutral.

After both Naruto and the Kyuubi finished their breakfasts, Hiashi motioned them to follow him into an adjacent room to talk.

"There's been another change to your training." Hiashi stated simply when the door had closed. He spoke in a low voice, clearly not wanting to be overheard.

"Why did Jiji change it _again_?" Naruto asked.

"Actually the council made the decision and he backed it, but that is a different matter." Hiashi did a very rare thing, he actually started to ramble, but he caught himself before anything major happened like a meteor strike or a bubonic plague outbreak. "We are to meet one of your new senseis at the ANBU prison."

"Did he get in trouble?" Naruto asked.

"Your sensei is a she actually, but her trouble should be resolved when we get there." Hiashi said smoothly. "Follow me."

XXX

Nii Yugito sat in her cold and dark cell. She didn't know where she was. One moment she was caught off guard be her target's demonic chakra surge, the next she was waking up in this cell, chained to the wall, clearly a prisoner. Although sunlight didn't reach to her damp eight-by-eight cell, she could imprecisely track time by the number of meals the Leaf ANBU brought her. She had been in the cell for five days if her assumption of three meals a day was true.

Or maybe her time in the cell was more, since she had been knocked out. The ANBU didn't give her any indication that they even heard her questions. They simply walked in and placed a tray of food within her reach and then left. They came in pairs, one to cover the doorway and their partner, while the second moved forward to give her her meal.

Today didn't seem any different—except that there was no food, and a full four-man ANBU squad entered her cell. Yugito was nervous by the show of force that the Leaf was presenting her. Despite the fact that she was chained loosely to the wall and both her and the Nibi's chakra was sealed away, the ANBU didn't take any chances with their Jinchuuriki prisoner. A moment after the last ANBU got into his, or maybe it was a she, place and a man in white robes walked in. He used a cane and was smoking a pipe. He was easily sixty years old and was wearing a hat with the kanji for 'fire' on it. He was Konoha's Sandaime Hokage.

"**Kitten, you are ****so**** going to die."**

_Shut up!_ Yugito snarled at the two-tailed demon cat inside her head.

Worry flashed across the fifteen-year-old Jinchuuriki's face as Sarutobi walked closer to her. As he advanced, she retreated until her back touched the cold stonewall and had nowhere left to go.

"I'm not here to hurt you." Sarutobi said in a kind voice.

"You're going to kill me aren't you!" Yugito accused the wizened old man, ignoring his words. "Don't lie to me."

The Third smiled slightly, causing Yugito to become very scared indeed. "I have a scroll from the Konoha council. It is the ruling body here in Konoha and they have come to a decision concerning you." The Nibi's host was paralyzed with fear as Sarutobi drew the scroll from within his robes.

"**I told you."** The Nibi stated matter-of-factly.

"If you are willing to remain here and train a boy while under ANBU surveillance, you may live in Konoha in peace."

Nii Yugito was shocked. The Nibi was as well. Defying all logical reasoning, the council had deemed that she should live and had even given her freedom at a small price. How hard could it be to train a boy? She had expected death if she was caught. Hell, her actions warranted it.

"Nii Yugito, Jinchuuriki of the Nibi, do you accept the terms offered to you by the council of Konoha?" The Sandiame Hokage asked formally.

"How could I not?" Yugito answered both for herself as well as the Nibi. Smiling, Sarutobi produced a key from his robes and then unlocked the chains from Yugito's limbs.

"Although your normal chakra will be unsealed, I'm afraid the Nibi's will have to remain tucked away." Sarutobi explained the general fear of demonic chakra in the hidden village.

If it meant her safety, Yugito readily agreed with it. Konoha had been more than fair to her. If she had been in Kumo, she would have been killed and the Nibi extracted and resealed into another.

"**Kitten…"** The Nibi began to speak, but found that she couldn't continue. A huge demonic preasance was coming towards them. Although normal humans couldn't sense this, the Nibi and by extension, Yugito could.

"You may let Naruto-kun in." The Hokage instructed the ANBU stationed at the door, who promptly let the seven-year-old, blue-eyed blonde in.

"Hello Jiji!" Naruto chirped as he greeted the Hokage. In the boy's arms was a fox that practically oozed demonic chakra. "Are you Yugito-sensei?" he asked hesitantly, looking at the Kumo kunoichi.

"This is Nii Yugito, Naruto." Sarutobi began as the fox sniffed the air.

"**She's got Nibi-san sealed inside her." **The Kyuubi said in a smooth voice.

"A-Are y-you the Nine-tails?" Yugito asked fearful of the red fox.

"**The One and Only Kyuubi no Kitsune at your service."** The vixen answered with a slight bow and a flourish of her tail. Scampering over to the Kumo kunoichi, the Kyuubi sniffed her over. **"I like her better than that Scardy-Uchiha."** She stated as she jumped into the blonde's arms and draped herself around his neck like a scarf.

Naruto scratched the Kyuubi behind her ears absent mindedly as Sarutobi introduced him. "Yugito-san, this is Uzumaki Naruto." He paused for a moment. "He is the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune."

"Nice to meet you Yugito-sensei!" Naruto stuck out a hand to shake hers. Just before Yugito shook the younger blonde's hand, the Kyuubi walked down Naruto's arm and put a paw out inside Naruto's palm. Yugito shook both paw and hand in one go and then stood up.

Taking another look around the room, she noticed a black-haired man standing by the door. His pale white eyes betrayed him as a Hyuuga, one of the clan she had just attacked. Yugito immediately went on guard and tensed, not knowing if he ment her well or ill.

"You may relax Yugito-san." Hiashi stated. "No member of the Hyuuga clan will attack you unless you attack first." Yugito nodded, barely hearing the clan head's words.

"Hiashi-san, I bet she's going to teach me all sorts of cool things too." Hiashi smiled at the boy's exuberance.

"That's what we are hoping for, Naruto." Hiashi replied with a smile.

Nii Yugito retreated deep into her mind and came to a sunny field where the Kyuubi resided. Flowers grew in the shape of the seal that held back the Nibi. As long as the demon cat didn't attack Yugito, she was free to roam her domain in the Kunoichi's mindscape.

"**Ahh, Kitten, are you worried about staying in Konoha?"** The ancient cat inquired.

"This isn't anything like Kumo…" She began. "They treat me like…a…human…"

"**Is that the reason you came in here Kitten?" **The Nibi demanded. **"Because a couple of people treat you ike you've always dreamed of being treated? You need to learn that you are a Kunoichi and have to grow out of childish fears."**

"But nobody in Kumo would even look at me as if I was an equal. Even the ninja only called me 'weapon.'" Yugito blurted out.

"**Konoha appears different."** The Nibi replied. **"That boy Naruto has the support of the Hokage as well as a prominent clan head."** She allowed her words to seem into Yugito's brain.

"So people here might _like_ jinchuuriki here?" The blond Kumo kunoichi asked, surprised that the notion that such a place existed in the world.

"**I wouldn't get your hopes up."** The blue cat cautioned. **"You've only seen the Hokage and ****one**** clan head. If I remember correctly, Konoha is less strict than Kumo. The villagers might not believe the same things that the Hokage does."**

"Way to ruin my hopes." Yugito muttered darkly.

"**I'm only being realistic." **The Nibi replied. **"Now get back out there!"**

Yugito's vision swirled as she left her mindscape and became aware of her surroundings. Shen her vision stabilized, she found herself riding on the back of a large furry animal. Upon further investigation it was a large red fox. More specifically, she was riding the Kyuubi like a horse.

Wait, what? The Kyuubi was tiny, could she change size?

"**Damn right I can change size." **The Kyuubi growled in her wolf sized form as if reading Yugito's thoughts. **"I've got about two tails of chakra to work with."**

Nii Yugito and the Nibi froze at the Kyuubi's seemingly casual statement. "That's the same amount as Nibi!" Yugito exclaimed.

"**Yes, and it's less than two ninths of my chakra." **The Kyuubi enjoyed scaring the older Jinchuuriki.

"So the number of tails represents the strength and chakra capacities of all the Biju?" Naruto asked upon hearing the Kyuubi's words.

"**Somewhat, but there are other demons with multiple tails."** The Kyuubi replied.

"So there could be a ten-tailed cat?" Naruto asked.

"**No."** The demon fox replied. **"The Biju are the strongest demon of their animal type. Since I am the strongest of the Biju, there could be a fox type demon with eight tails. If I died or somehow lost a tail of power, another fox could claim the title of Biju."**

"So each type of animal demon is a kingdom with the Biju as the King or Queen in both your cases." Sarutobi said to the Nibi and Kyuubi, trying to understand what the fox queen had said.

"**You could put it in those words, I suppose."** The red over-sized vixen replied. **"It doesn't capture the intricacies of the demon hierarchies, but it is a working illustration. The only thing I would add is that the title of Biju doesn't necessarily pass down through a family, although it is a possibility."**

"I never knew that." Yugito murmured loudly enough for everyone to hear.

"None of us did." Sarutobi stated, trying to make her feel less left out.

"Yes, but I've been talking with Nibi for nearly ten years!" Yugito exclaimed. "She never told me about stuff like this before."

"Can you stand and walk, Yugito-sensei?" Naruto asked.

The Kyuubi stopped at the entrance to the ANBU prision. She didn't want to walk around Konoha ferrying shapes and sizes. It would probably incite a riot and endanger her Naruto-kun.

Hiashi helped Yugito to her feet as she dismounted the Kyuubi. He made sure that she could stand on her won two feet before moving away. "Thank you Hiashi-sama. I think I can walk. Thank you Kyuubi-sama."

"**It's Kyuubi-san." **The fox corrected the girl and licked her face at the same time. She then shrank to her original size and with a running leap, scampered her way up Naruto's side and settled down around his neck. She draped her hind and forelegs limply and relaxed.

Satisfied with the current situation, Sarutobi left the ANBU prison with Yugito and the ANBU guard following. Hiashi took Naruto and the Kyuubi to a training ground to meet the famous Uchiha Itachi.

XXX

Uchiha Itachi was doing a very unUchiha-like thing. He was sneaking out of the Uchiha compound, and it was easier said than done. Being a highly recognizable prodigy of the clan, along with the fact he was the heir to the clan, didn't make his job any easier.

"Itachi!" He heard his father's voice calling to him. Cursing his rotten luck, Itachi stopped and walked to where his father was. There was no way he could have kept going. Giving the excuse of not hearing wouldn't fly. He was a member of the ANBU, Konoha's elite fighting force, and he was capable of hearing a mouse squeak 30 meters away.

The Uchiha prodigy waited a few meters away from his father respectfully as Uchiha Fugaku finished speaking to two clan elders.

After several minutes, Uchiha Fugaku finished talking with the elders and turned his attention to Itachi. "I nearly missed you. Do you have a mission?"

"Yes father." Itachi replied in a respectful manor.

"What is it?" Kugaku queried.

"I'm not sure of its nature." Itachi replied truthfully. He didn't know what to expect while training one Uzumaki Naruto, Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune

"What rank is it?" The elder Uchiha pushed for more information.

"I'm not positive." Itachi replied. "But I believe it is a solo B-rank." Fugaku looked like he was going to push his son for more information so Itachi attempted his escape plan. "Please excuse me father, but Hokage-sama is waiting for me."

With that the Uchiha prodigy leapt to the rooftops and speed off towards the Hokage's tower. Uchiha Fugaku watched his eldest son run off.

"He's hiding something. You know that don't you?" A voice came from a seemingly blank wall.

"Yes…" The Uchiha clan head replied slowly.

"Your orders?"

"Follow him discreetly and find out what he does." Fugaku ordered. "He is becoming more and more distant as each day passes."

"Hai, Fugaku-sama." With that, the subtle presence in the wall vanished and the Uchiha clan head entered the Uchiha compound.

XXX

Naruto, with his Kyuubi scarf, wandered around Training Ground 12. IT was completely abandoned. He had explored every nook and cranny of the quarter square mile training facility, finding armloads of ninja weaponry. He brought these to the center where the grass had been stomped away and only a hard dirty surface remained.

Roughly 90 percent of the senbon, Kunai, and Shuriken were junk. The senbon were usually blunted badly from impact, or were bent beyond hope of repair. The blonde typically junked the Kunai with chips in their edges or obviously bent. Shuriken were the hardest to deem reusable. If the mass of one of the blades was different from the others because of a chip or bend, the weapon would spin out of control and miss the intended target by wide margins. With the number of rocks and other hard surfaces littered around the training ground, Naruto only found a handful that he could reuse.

Nearly an hour and a half after Naruto had arrived, Itachi showed up. Calmly he noted the pile of ninja weaponry ay the blonde's feet. In reality he hadn't gone to the Hokage's office like he had told his father. He had sensed a tail and had shaken it off, but it took nearly an hour, even with his ANBU skills…and that was troublesome. Whomever it was, they were good.

Pushing that train of thought to the back of his mind for later consideration, Itachi walked closer to the blonde. "I am Uchiha Itachi. Hokage-sama asked me to train you in the ninja art of ninjutsu.

"So what am I going to learn first?" Naruto asked.

"One of the most useful and simple ninjutsus that all ninjas know; the henge." Itachi replied. "Here are the seals." The ANBU slowly formed the handseals and then turned into a copy of Naruto. After the smoke cleared, Naruto gawked at the perfect replica of himself. With a second cloud of smoke, Itachi re-appeared. "Now you do it. Just channel your chakra into your hands as you perform the seals."

"Um sensei?" Naruto began. "I don't know any handseals."

THAT threw Itachi off balance mentally. _How can he train with the Hyuuga clan and NOT know the handseals._

"**He knows one, the Fox seal."** The Kyuubi spoke up from around Naruto's neck. **"Created it so I could gain this lovely, furry body."**

"Show it to me." Itachi said. It wasn't a request; it was an order. Naruto complied, twisting his hands together and showed it to the Uchiha. Itachi examined the new seal for a minute before asking: "May I copy it with my Sharingan?"

"**I suppose so, as long as you don't show it to anyone with out my permission."** The Kyuubi replied. **"I would like you to analyse it to the best of your ability. If possible I'd like to create a few jutsus that use it."**

"It may take a while, but I think that Naruto will be ready for creating jutsus when I figure everything out." Itachi said smoothly while copying the Fox handseal with his three tome Sharingan.

"**Fine."** The Kyuubi replied. **"Now let's learn these regular handseals!"**

For the rest of the morning, Itachi worked the blonde through each of the twelve normal handseals. By lunchtime he blonde boy could form each handseal impecibly at a good speed…namely two per second. Quite an achievement for one so young. Most rookie Genin were only slightly faster. For Naruto to achieve such a level in a few hours…it was impressive.

"I think that is enough for this morning." Itachi informed the young Jinchuuriki. "It's time for lunch. Is there anything that you would like to eat?"

"RAMEN!" Naruto cried exuberantly. He had mastered the henge and was feeling good.

"I don't see why not." Itachi replied. "Do you want to sell those junked weapons to Daren while we're out?"

"Yeah, but there are so many!" Naruto whined. "I can't carry them all."

"Hmmm…" Itachi thought for a moment debating on what to do. Finally deciding he looked at Naruto and formed the cross handseal. "This is a jounin level ninjutsu because of the large amount of chakra it consumes. With you, that is no problem. Besides it is relatively simple."

"Is that the first seal?" Naruto asked, coping Itachi.

"It's the only one. Like I said it's rather simple." Itachi replied. "This is called the Kage Bushin no jutsu."

Naruto silently channeled a large amount of chakra through the seal. He poured roughly 30 percent of his chakra into the jutsu and was rewarded with ten pops and ten clouds of smoke. When the clouds disappeared, ten copies of the blonde stood blinking and looking at each other.

"Alright everyone, listen up!" Itachi caught all the blondes' attention. "Everyone is going to henge into a civilian and then carry some scrap to Daren's."

The clones and the origial scrambled to follow their sensei's orders. They all disappeared in clouds of smoke and then reappeared as various civilians, all kids. They picked up all the scrap metal and ran through Konoha with an armload of black ninja tools. As soon as they were safely inside Daren's smithy, they dropped their henges and deposited their loads into the appropriate area. With this latest delivery of high-quality scrap metal, Daren was quite happy.

"Going to be a shinobi, eh?" The muscular smith smiled at the blonde boy as he saw Itachi standing by the doorway. "If you keep bringing me these…" he gestured to the pile or assorted, junked Kunai, Shuriken and Senbon. "…When you need a specialty weapon, come to me. I'll forge you any weapon you'd like."

Naruto's eyes widened at the generous offer. Specialty weaponry was very expenive due to the skills and high quality materials required. "TH-Thank you sir!" Naruto exclaimed. Daren smiled at the boy's appreciation for his offer.

Leaving the smithy with a smile on his face, Naruto followed Itachi to the nearest ramen stand. If the owners of the stand were Demon-haters, they didn't show it at all. The fact that Itachi, the heir to the Uchiha clan was with the blonde, practically forced them to serve him and treat him nicely. Their lunch was uneventful, if you could call eight bowls of ramen uneventful. By the time Naruto was done he couldn't eat another bite if his life depended on it.

The Kyuubi finished licking the last of his bowls clean when Naruto had recovered wnough to continue training. With ony an hour since they left Training Ground 12, the trio (Remember the Kyuubi) returned and Itachi began to lecture Naruto on the Kage Bushin no Jutsu.

"One of the many advantages of the Kage Bushin is that is is a physical clone of you." Itachi began. "These clones can fight, perform jutsus, think independently, and even learn."

"Learn?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, I think that this requires a demonstration." Itachi replied and created a single shadow clone. "Now just use less chakra than last time and try to create only one clone."

The blonde closed his eyes in concentration and formed the seal. A moment later, two coulds of smoke disappeared revealing two blonde clones.

"Not bad." Commented Itachi's clone. "Both of you," He pointed at Naruto's two clones, "Follow me."

The disappeared into the woors and a moment later Itachi asked, "Who won?"

"You cheated with you eyes sensei." Naruto replied automatically. "Wait, how do I know that?"

"Whenever your clones learn, you learn as well." Itachi replied. "As you can see, they are useful for may purposes. The jutsu was originally created as a scouting and recon methods so one could send a clone to investigate deadly areas without worry in order to gather information. When your clone dispels, you learn everything that they learned."

"That's cool!" Naruto replied.

"**Would it be possible for me to use this ninjutsu?" **The Kyuubi asked. Itachi would have jumped if he hadn't been trained as an ANBU. The Kyuubi was sitting less than a meter from his feet. **"Looks like I can suppress my presence even in this body."**

"It might be possible for you Kyuubi-san." Itachi answered.

"**Ohhh! You remembered." **

"I respect your power, Kyuubi-san." Itachi replied without looking at the fox. "I don't want to cross you."

"**Very wise."** The vixen said with a toothy grin. **"I wonder what would happen if Konoha was surrounded by ****ten**** me's…"**

"Freak out most likely." Naruto commented. "So what else are you going to teach me?"

"Naruto, to learn a jounin-level forbidden jutsu in a day is an impressive feat." Itachi replied. "But before we move on, I'd like to make sure that you can bring out the full potential to the shadow clone."

"So you're a quality over quantity type of person when it comes to ninjutsu?" Naruto asked sourly, _reeeallllly_ looking forward to learning more ninjutsu.

"Not at all, Naruto." Itachi replied.

"Then why not teach me more today?" Naruto asked. "I can already use the henge and shadow clones, so why not move on to another cool ninjutsu?"

"When you have gained a good level of acomplishement with the kage bushin no jutsu, I can teach you many more ninjutsus." Itachi answered. "If your clones learn and pass that on to you when they are dispelled, what would happen if ten clones learned one jutsu a day for a week?"

Naruto was silent for a minute before a spark in his eyes grew to a vigorous bonfire. "I'd learn like 70 jutsus in a week!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Exaclty." Itachi replied.

"Then let's get hopping!" Naruto yelled as he greated five clones and began to prefect the shadow clones.

XXX

Naruto trudged home to the Hyuuga clan estate from Training Ground 12. Although he wasn't physically tired, the mental strain of absorbing the memories of countless clones had left him in a daze. _What a slave driver._ Complained Naruto mentally to the red fox that was walking next to him. Instead of hanging around the blonde's neck, the Kyuubi was on guard at his side ready for anything.

Unfortunatly for the duo, the Kyuubi's precautions were necessary. As soon as he had parted ways with Itachi, villagers had started to follow him. Block by block, more and more left what they were doing and followed him with a baleful glint in their eyes. Soon pebbles and small rocks pelted the blonde, but the seven-year-old didn't pay any attention to these missiles. They hurt, yes, but the Kyuubi's healing procecees didn't take long to nullify the effects of the impacts.

Gradually the chanting of "Die demon" grew and larger, fist-sized, stones were being hurled at high speeds towards the relatively defenseless boy. **"Kit…!" **The Kyuubi growled under her breath as she faced the crowd and walked backwards at the same speed as Naruto.

"I know, I know." Naruto replied, "But I don't want to hurt them."

"**You may not have a choice." **The Kyuubi muttered a few select curses that would make any sailor worth his salts cringe. In front of Naruto, a second crowd of villagers cut him off, trapping the boy and the fox. At this point a kunai sailed towards Naruto, who dodged…barely. The rusted and chipped ninja weapon seemed to be a signal of some sort and all hell broke loose.

XXX

Jiraiya, the Toad Sannin, and self proclaimed _SUPER PERVERT_ was enjoying a cold bottle of sake after a very productive afternoon. Konoha's women always gave him the best research material. The curves…the measurements that seemed to be impossible…

The Sannin let out a small, okay, tiny, perverted giggle as he thought back to his quality peeping time at the local public bathhouse. He was halfway into dream-mode when a pebble hit him squarely in the back of his head. "Damn gaki!" He muttered and whipped around trying to find the one responsible for taking away the beautiful girls dancing before his eyes.

Instead the sight he beheld was barely somprehendable to the legendary ninja. Konoha's villagers were yelling and screaming at a small boy. Pebbles and rocks filled the air and hit him squarely all over his body, yet the kid just stood there and took the abuse. In fact, it didn't look like the kid even felt the blows. Suddenly a Kunai flew from the crowd and nicked the boy on the neck. If he blonde hadn't dodged, he would have had a metal throat.

Time seemed to slow down as the Kunai approached the kid. For the first time since Jiraiya had clapped eyes on the boy, he looked up to track the weapon. His blue eyes flashed with determination as he snapped to the side in just enough time to avoid a deadly blow. The boy's cheeks, previously hidden by his bangs, were exposed and revealed three scars on each side of his face that looked like scars. Those marks…

XXX—Flashback—XXX

"So this is Minato's son?" Jiraiya asked the Sandaime Hokage, his sensei. "Minato sealed the nine-tails inside his sone?"

"Yes…" Sarutobi answered and then held up the child so that the Sannin could see his face. Three perfect scars marred his otherwise blemish-free skin on each cheek. They looked like wiskers.

XXX—End flashbask—XXX

Suddenly all hell broke loose and the crowd charged the boy and…his fox…

**BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! A CLIFHANGER!!!!!**

**I'm evil, I know, but I didn't want to drag this chapter out forever. I simply wanted to cover Naruto meeting his new senseis. Also, I want to have everyone looking forward to the next chapter.**

**Also, I know some people might think that the Kage Bushin on the first day is a bit much, but consider these things before you bar-b-que me.**

**1) Naruto has better chakra control than when he was a Genin in the Anime and Manga. As of right now, he knows the tree-walking exercise and can perform it quite well. In the Anime and Manga he learns it in a few hours with less control. **

**2) He still has Kyuubi-enhansed chakra levels. He can perform the jutsu without fear of chakra exhaustion.**

**Just a reminder, BUT THE POLLS ARE STILL OPEN! YOU CAN VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE PAIRINGS WHICH MIGHT BE USED! I like to know that people like to read.**

**As always, READ AND REVIEW!!!**

**~Cyberviper42~**


	7. Chapter 7: Gaki

**Here we GO!!!! Here's another chapter of Together or Alone! Sorry for the delay getting this posted, but school is picking back up for the end of the year. I get out on June 22****nd****! *Sniff* Other authors are already out for the summer *sniff* So not fair…**

**Anyway, keep updating on the pairings you want. I think I've settled on a couple, but I still want your input. Here are the results so far:**

**The voting is still not closed. It will not close until I start forming the pairings probably around the time Naruto gets to the Academy. But don't let that keep you from voting NOW! Pop in a review with the pairing you want to see and even the ones you don't want to see. Just remember to KEEP IT GUY/GIRL. Even though this is rated M, I WILL NOT GO THERE.**

**Here are the votes as they stand as of May 21, 2009 roughly 3:00 pm EST**

**Votes for Pairs:**

**Naruto/femKyuubi-----7Naruto/Hinata-----6Shikamaru/Temari-----1**

**Neji/Tenten-----1Iruka/Shizune-----1Kakashi/Anko-----1**

**Choji/Ino-----1Naruto/Yugito-----1Naruto/Anko-----1**

**Itachi/Anko-----1**

**Votes for Harem:**

**Naruto/FemHaku/Hinata-----3Naruto/FemKyuubi/Yugito/Nibi-----4**

**Naruto/Hinata/FemKyuubi/Temari-----1Naruto/FemKyuubi/Yugito-----2**

**Naruto/FemKyuubi/Kurenai-----10Naruto/FemKyuubi/Hinata-----1**

**Naruto/Hinata/FemKyuubi/Temari-----1**

**Here's the chapter:**

**READ AND REVIEW!!!!**

**Enjoy.**

"Normal speech"

_Thoughts_

**Biju speech**

_**Biju thoughts**_

Chapter 7: Gaki…

Time seemed to slow down as the Kunai approached the kid. For the first time since Jiraiya had clapped eyes on the boy, he looked up to track the weapon. His blue eyes flashed with determination as he snapped to the side in just enough time to avoid a deadly blow. The boy's cheeks, previously hidden by his bangs, were exposed and revealed three scars on each side of his face that looked like whiskers. Those marks…

XXX—Flashback—XXX

"So this is Minato's son?" Jiraiya asked the Sandaime Hokage, his sensei. "Minato sealed the nine-tails inside his sone?"

"Yes…" Sarutobi answered and then held up the child so that the Sannin could see his face. Three perfect scars marred his otherwise blemish-free skin on each cheek. They looked like wiskers.

XXX—End flashbask—XXX

Suddenly all hell broke loose and the crowd charged the boy and…his fox…

XXX

Jiraiya was about to save his student's son, but he stopped short. Red chakra was bubbling out of the blonde and forming a layer around the boy. His eyes turned red and his teeth and nails elongated into fangs and claws. His six wisker marks became more pronounced and deeper in color. He let out a low, feral growl and formed a handseal.

"KAGE BUSHIN NO JUTSU!!!"

Every ninja that knew of the forbidden technique immediately froze as tens of very real and solid clones appeared in and around the crowd. Almost instantly, those with little or no ninja experience fled in a panic. Naruto's clones moved to surround the blonde and the fox with a very thick clone shield. Everyone tensed. The only villagers that remained were retired jounin or chuunin. Even though they had been retired for years, and in some cases, decades, they were not to be taken lightly. These were the ones that usually brought him the closest to death's door in his previous beatings.

To everyone's horror, all of the blonde clones drew two kunai apiece. In all of the previous beatings, Naruto had refused to even throw a punch at his attackers, but now he was drawing two hundred deadly weapons. The clone shield now had teeth. With a yell, the clones and the original moved as one, charging the weakest part of the circle.

The mass of blondes broke through the circle, flinging some unfortunate villagers away like rag dolls. Sustaining only a handful of casualties, the blonde army charged forwad unhindered. The circle of villagers collapsed into the gap created by the jinchuuriki. As the mass of clones ran, several henged themselves into mirror images of the Kyuubi and paired up with one of many blonde clones. Suddenly, the army stopped and faced the incoming villagers, while the originals and their clone look alikes feld in ten different directions.

Mere seconds before the two forces collided and did combat, a large cloud of smoke formed between them. It disappeared just as quickly as the smoke created by a clone, only this time it revealed a massive battle toad with a white-haried man standing galliently atop it. "You must be the lowest of the low to even think about attacking a kid." Jiraiya said with a frown.

"But sir! The Demon—" A former chuunin cried out only to be cut off.

"—Is not a threat to you or Konoha." Jiraiya said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "The Yondaime was a master sealer and it was I who taught him everything he knew. I even checked the seal myself and found nothing wrong with it.

An ANBU with a Weasel mask appeared with a flicker at the toad Sannin's side. "Allow my squad to deal with this Jiraiya-sama."

"Fine, fine." Jiraiya consented and allowed his summon to return to the summonings world. A four-man ANBU squad surrounded the attackers and bound them up.

The Toad Sannin walked to the mass of blonde shadow clones. Each one of them tightened their grips on their weaponry and took a step back. "Don't worry. I'm not here to hurt you or your original and his companion." Thrity sets of eyes softened slightly at the Toad Sannin's words. "Where are the two of you staying anyway? You guys have some nice clothes on."

"The Hyuuga clan estate." One blonde said before the army of shadow clones disappeared in a puff of smoke. Smiling, Jiraiya made his way to his former student's abode…but look at those curves. The white-haired pervert immeidatly began to tail a most beautiful and vulumptuous villager.

Giggling perversely, the sannin muttered. "Konoha's are by far the best…"

XXX

Naruto was just reaching the gates of the Hyuuga clan estate when the memories from thirty of his clones rushed into his head. "Who was that man?" He muttered to himself. He stumbed but the Kyuubi's tail caught him and righted him. The Guard at the gate saw this and came to see how he was.

Naruto had become a source of lively energy that the Hyuuga clan would never admit they liked. It was a refreshing brake from the old dreary ways of the Hyuuga clan. The blonde boy and his fox were the pulsing energy that livened Konoha's most formal clan. Naturally, some of the younger Hyuuga had taken a liking to the blonde ball of energy. He had some sort of charm that gained him allies in someplaces…but unfortunately, not all the villagers were willing to give him a chance for his charm to work on them. Their hatred of the Kyuubi, coupled with the pain of loosing loved ones was too great a barrier to overcome. Luckilly he had a safe haven, but there were plenty out there who called for his death dayly.

"Naruto-kun, are you alright?" One guard asked, at his side, opposite from the kyuubi. She held his arm to give him support.

"Hai…I think so…" Naruto replied half there. "I got attacked."

"You don't look that bad." The second guard said, standing in front of him. "Must-have escaped pretty quickly."

"If Itachi-sensei hadn't taught me the Kage Bushin no Jutsu, I would have been toast." Naruto replied. "They helped to scare off all but the retirees." Naruto called the former ninja who attacked him retirees. After all, they had retired from the shinobi ranks.

"I have two problems believing that…" The male guard stated as Naruto rose to his feet. "One, you called an Uchiha sensei, and two, you claim that you used a jounin-level forbidden ninjutsu. You haven't been training in ninjutsu for a day, yet you think that you can use such an advanced technique?"

Naruto didn't offer a verbal reply. Instead, he formed a handseal and dumped the last of his reserves into forming a single, solitary shadow clone. Both guards were stunned to say the least, but quickly dismissed whatever doubts they had about the blonde boy and quickly carried him inside, leaving their third quard companion to stay and watch over the gate in their absence. The blonde was brought to the Hyuuga clinic where he was diagnosed with chakra exhaustion.

Using a high level technique at the age of seven was dangerous for even a jinchuuriki. His body still hadn't been accustomed to the demonic chakra flowing through him and his enlarged chakra coils. However, the fact that he could operate at the level he had, made his achievement even more remarkable.

With the Kyuubi aiding our young blonde his stay in the clinic was short. In fact, he was up and about within two hours, and the nurses were willing to discharge him only after an extensive examination with their Byakugan to make sure his chakra coils were functioning normally.

Typically when a ninja suffered from chakra exhaustion, the effects were caused by a lack of chakra flowing through their chakra system. Because the chakra system is so closely entwined with the major organs of the human body, chakra exhaustion is extremely dangerous. Ninja in the past have killed themselves from using too much chakra. That is why everyone was surprised when Naruto was walking about as if nothing had happened about an hour before dinnertime.

Some hypothesized that it was because dinner was so close that his body healed itself, while others attributed it to his seemingly endless supply of emergy. Either way, the blonde and the fox were ready for dinner at six in the evening as they normally were.

XXX

Jiraiya, Toad Sannin, Toad Sage, and all around Super Pervert approached the gate to the Hyuuga estate. He had just done some of the best research in a month and was feeling very good. His next book would be absolutely increadible.

"Jiraiya-sama!" A guardman said in surprise. "What brings you to the Hyuuga estate this evening?"

"Does a blue-eyed, blonde haired boy around this tall…" Jiraiya held his hand about three-and-a-half feet off the ground. "…with a red fox live here by any chance?"

"You mean Naruto-kun?" A second guard asked. "Yes he does. Did he do something wrong today? The Guards we replaced said he was attacked, and that they didn't get much more out of him. He was suffering from chakra exhaustion apparently."

"I see." The Sannin mumbled. "May I see him? I was quite impressed by his shadow clone display."

"So the rumors are true…" The third member of the guard said.

"I don't see why not." The first guard answered. "Do you know the way to the clinic?"

"I think I do…though it has been quite a while since I've been here." The Toad summoner replied.

"Well, it's still in the same place on the northeast side of the estate." The guard replied. "Shall we inform Hiashi-sama that you have arrived?"

"Sure, I'll find him in the dining hall, correct?" Jiraiya asked.

"Dinner is usually served at about six, so you have about twenty minutes to see if Naruto is still in the clinic. That boy has inhuman healing abilities."

"Good to know." Jiraiya said before entering the gate. "Goodevening, but I think I smell dinner cooking and must be off." With that, Jiraiya walked over to the Hyuuga clinic where he was expecting to find at least a conscious blonde boy to talk to.

"What do you mean he's at dinner?" Jiraiya demanded, looking at the nurse in disbelief…Not that those curves could lie…

"He was up and about in two hours and after a Byakugan examination he left about fifteen minutes ago." The nurse replied.

"So I guess I'd better head over to the dinning hall if I want to see him."

"That would probably be best." The nurse replied. "He'll be eating with Hiashi-sama and his family."

"Thank you my dear." The pervert…ahem…Super Pervert thanked the nurse but not after giving her a good long look before hurrying out the door. Sometimes it was best to not overstay ones welcome. Yes sir.

XXX

The Kyuubi couldn't help but drool at the smell of dinner being cooked. Her extra-sensitive nose didn't help either as she could detect underlying scents of herbs and spices, which seasoned the meat. By scent alone, the red vixen could determine that it was a juicy slab of red meat, cooked medium well with a glorious smell to it.

She licked her lips, egarly waiting for the meal to begin, completely oblivious to the conversation around her. She was faicing directly at the kitchen door, and there was nothing that was going to distract her.

"Naruto, I know that you feel fine, but I think that you should still take it easy for a little while." Hana said smiling at the boundless energy that flowed from the blonde jinchuuriki.

"I know, I know, but I just can't wait for dinner!" Naruto grinned sheepishly. "Kyu-chan isn't talking right now and she's staring at the kitchen door, so something must be amazingly well cooked in there. Can't wait to dig in."

"Naruto-kun, you need to learn patience!" Hinata giggled at the blonde's antics.

"I waited for an hour in the clinic while they ran checks on me." Naruto replied. "Isn't that long enough for one day?"

"It's a start Naruto, but a ninja must have extreme patience." Hana said as a branch member entered the room and whispered something into Hiashi's ear. The head of the Hyuuga clan immediately called for everyone's attention.

"Everyone! I have something to announce." Everyone gave him their attention and turned to face him…except the Kyuubi, who simply flipped her ears back to hear the clan head better. Her nose and eyes were glued to the Kitchen. "My Genin sensei is coming for dinner tonight, so please be on your best behavior."

A chorus of "Hai!" resounded through the dining hall as a member of the kitchen staff hurried out with another place setting. Until she realized that the meal was not coming, the Kyuubi was standing at attention licking her chomps.

"Oi! Kyu-chan!" Naruto said in somewhat of a loud voice. "You expecting diner so soon?"

"**Shut it. I'm starved."** The vixen snapped, a drop of drool escaping her jaw. **"If you had my nose you'd be looking forward to this meal."**

"How can you be hungry?" Naruto demanded. "You're not the one who did serious training with the Scardy-Uchiha."

"Scardy-Uchiha?" Hiashi asked, entering the conversation in the middle. "I thought that you were being trained by Uchiha-Itachi."

"**The little runt respects my power…" **The Kyuubi answered. **"That's all."** With the interruption over as far as she was conserned, she resumed her duties of Kitchen Door Watcher.

"Itachi-sensei practically freaked out when Kyu-chan started to talk to him in Jiji's office the other day." Naruto explained. "He kept calling her Kyuubi-sama n' stuff like that until she told him to call her Kyuubi-san or something like that…can't quite remember."

The assembled Hyuuga's sweatdropped at the blonde's remark. Naruto could list off the address of every Ramen stand he had been too in the past month, but he couldn't remember what his demon companion told his sensei what to call her. Oh well…He was only seven after all, and ramen was much more interesting than formal names and such. He called the Hokage Jiji for crying out loud!

"I see." Hiashi replied slowly. The door to the dining hall opened and in walked a silver-haired man. He had red markings on his face, which made him look wild. Hiashi stood up and walked over to greet the strange man. "May I have everyone's attention?" Almost instantly, everyone shut up and looked at the duo standing by the door. The cool, calm and collected Hiashi was the absolute opposite of the wild man standing next to him.

"This is my Genin sensei, Jiraiya the Toad Sannin." Said Sannin waved hello to the assembled Hyuugas and blonde Uzumaki.

_There he is._ "Hello everyone it is nice to be here. Thank you for letting me intrude this fine evening."

"It's no problem at all Jiraiya-sama." Hana said as she motioned for the old man to sit down near the head of the table, across from Naruto and…his fox.

_That's odd. I didn't think that Hiashi would allow a pet into the dining hall…OOH here comes the food and doesn't smell wonderful._ The Sannin's eyes were fixed on the meal, just as the Kyuubi's were, as it exited the kitchen and made it's way to the table curtasy of the kitchen staff.

"Thank you for the wonderful meal." Hiashi thanked the cooks who bowed to their clan head before leaving the room to allow the head family and its guests some privacy.

"**Time to EAT!!!!!"** The Kyuubi was sitting on Naruto's lap looking preditorially at the meat sitting on the table in front of the pair.

"Oi! Kyu-chan!" Naruto said somewhat annoyed by the demon fox's overegarness. "Slow down and sit back down on the floor! It's hard enough to serve you with out you sitting on my lap. You aren't exactly easy to reach around…Uh oh."

"**What was that you said?!" **The Kyuubi asked releasing some killer intent upon the poor blonde who was wondering how to escape this one. Thunderclouds seemed to appear out of nowhere as Naruto shrank in his seat as the Kyuubi glared at him balefully.

"N-N-Nothing!! I-I Swear!!!" Naruto was desperately searching for a way to escape the angry vixen's wrath. "Would you like me to serve you?" He asked hopeful that it would wash away his transgressions. One does not insinuate that the Kyuubi no Kitsune is FAT at live long to tell about it. A lady's appearance is her top consern after all.

"**Yes! Three slices to begin with if you will."** The Kyuubi replied, all malice towards the blonde gone instantly. She hopped off Naruto's lap and sat expectantly next to his chair.

While Naruto completed his furry friend's order, Jiraiya leaned over to Hiashi and asked in a whisper, "Is that the…"

"Kyuubi no Kitsune, known as the Nine-tailed fox demon, strongest of the Biju." Hiashi confirmed Jiriaya's deductions. "We'll talk about it after dinner. There's a lot to explain."

"Agreed."

By now, the Kyuubi was contently chowing down her meal under Naruto's chair; tail flicking back and forth as she savored each mouthful. How sweat it was to have some great food like this. She has almost forgotten after spending seven years sealed inside her jinchuuriki.

The meal went along smoothly until Naruto looked over to Jiraiya and frowned. Then it dawned on him. "Hey, old man, you saved my tail earlier didn't you."

A tickmark appeared on the Toad Sannin's forehead as the blonde clone of Manikaze Minato sat in front of him and called him old. _Just like his father…_

"You're welcome Gaki, but you should know that I'm the…" (At this point in time, the Toad Sannin of Konoha, student of the Third Hokage and Sensei of the Fourth, did his weird introductory dance including summoning a Toad to stand upon.) "…You see Gaki?"

"Oi, Hiashi-san, how do you know this old coot anyway?" Naruto asked the clan head, completely disrespecting Jiraiya. He whispered in a slightly loud whisper. "He seem's crazy to me."

A second tick mark appeared on the Toad summoner's forehead as Naruto disrespected him again.

"Naruto, be polite. This is my Genin sensei. Didn't you hear me before?" Hiashi replied,

Naruto shook his head. "Nah, the fuzball was distracting me when she was waiting for diner to come." Naruto's answer was so innocent and his bright blue eyes and cute blonde hair didn't bring the innocence into question.

"Well, next time, please try to pay attention." Hiashi reprimanded the seven-year-old.

"Okay…I'll try to pay attention." Naruto mumbled as he scratched the back of his head out of habit. It had become one of his trademarks. No one else could do it exactly the same way. Some Hyuuga swore it was a jutsu or something, but no one knew what made him so…so _unique_.

XXX

Naruto, with a Kyuubi scarf, sat on futon with Hiashi. They were facing Jiraiya who sat alone on a second futon. The four of them were in a private lounge/meeting room that Hiashi usually used for official business, but had decided to open for this private talk.

"Jiraiya-sama, from the conversation at the table this evening, you met Naruto on the streets today and helped him escape from some villagers." Hiashi said, trying to start a conversation.

"Yes…He was being pelted with rocks and pebbles when I first saw him walking down the street." Jiraiya stated in an even voice. "There was a crowd of villagers following the Gaki and he would have been able to escape without a fight if he hadn't been trapped between two mobs."

"In truth, I would have stepped in when they started to throw kunai, but the brat dodged and created an army of shadow clones. He—"

"—Pardon to interrupt, but did you say shadow clones?" Hiashi demanded and answer from his former sensei.

"Yes…what other kinds of clones can knock people over and disappear in puffs of smoke?" Jiraiya replied. "Anyway, the jutsu scared off all but the retired veterans. And he was able to escape by charging the weakest links of the circle. After that, several henged into the Kyuubi and about half made their escape while the rest waited to slow down the veterans. That's where I stepped in and stopped the massacre from happening and moments later the ANBU arrived."

"Do you remember which ones?" Hiashi asked. "Friendly or at least non-aggressive ANBU are helpful deserve some sort of thanks."

"I think it was Weasel and his squad." Jiraiya replied thinking back to the ANBU who detained the villagers.

"I see." Hiashi muttered.

"Weasel-san is always helping me out." Naruto spoke up. "When he's around, the villagers don't hurt me. He stops them before they get to aggressive and violent."

"You ain't an ordinary kid are you?" Jiraiya asked Naruto. "Even for a jinchuuriki, you are lucky."

"Why?" Naruto asked. "And what's a Jinshuuki?

"Jin-chuu-ri-ki" Hiashi pronounced the sylobles slowly so Naruto could learn how to say the word properly. "They are humans who have Biju sealed inside them. Typically they are turned into living weapons by their shinobi villages, but some are lucky like you and find people who care about them."

"That's right Gaki." Jiriaya nodded in agreement with Hiashi's words. "Even if they are loved by those around them, they can still have trouble with the Biju sealed inside of them."

"**Yah, I know a Biju…the one tail I think…who tries to make his host insane so that he can try to break free of the seal."** The Kyuubi spoke up from around Naruto's neck. **"You're lucky that I'm so nice to you Naruto-kun."**

"Thanks Kyu-chan." Naruto smiled and scratched this partner's neck fondly. The vixen's legs twitched involuntarily as she enjoyed her treatment.

"**Ahhh!" **she sighed contently. **"A little more to the left…down a little…right there…ahhhh!"** Naruto complied with the fox's directions and soon his fingers hit her 'sweat spot' and turned the Kyuubi's into a limp pile of fox around Naruto's neck.

"When a Jinchuuriki and his or her Biju are more companions than angagonistic parasite and host, they can become increadibly powerful." Jiraiya said to Naruto. "I think Nii Yugito and the Nibi are on good terms and thus they are able to work as a team. She has created a few techniques unigue to her and the Nibi, and I think that she'll teach you how to create some jutsus that only you and the Kyuubi can perform together."

"WOW!!!" Naruto was paying attention to the hermit now. "Would they be super powerful?"

"They could be." Jiraiya replied.

"Jinchuuriki have lots of chakra thanks to their Bijus so most Jinchuuriki techniques require a lot of chakra. Amounts that would kill most elite jounin."

"That's so cool." Naruto stated, eyes zoned out imagining awesome ninjutsus.

"Well, I think that it's time for you to go to bed Naruto." Hiashi stated. Naruto nodded his head and stood up.

"Good night Hiashi-san, Jiraiya-san." Naruto bowed just a little to the two of them and then stepped out of the room, closing the door behind him, and walked slowly down the hall. Through the walls he could hear Jiraiya and Hiashi continue talking.

"So has our dear Naruto tried to get up with your daughter?" Jiraiya giggled a little perversely. Naruto froze in the hall and pressed his eay up to the wall.

"Jiraiya-sensei, I would appreciate it if you did not think such perverted thoughts about my daughter and Minato's son." Hiashi replied.

"So you know." Jiraiya stated, suddenly serious.

"Hai, Sarutobi-sama showed me his birth certificate." Hiashi answered. "Don't you think that it would help his standing with the villagers if they knew his parents?"

"It might, but I know for a fact, that Minato didn't want Naruto to know until he was a teenager." Jiraiya replied. "I read his will."

Naruto would have listened longer, but a branch member was coming towards him on his nightly patrol. The blonde scooted away from the wall and walked to his room as if nothing had happened and that he hadn't evesdroped on Hiashi and Jiraiya.

_So what do you think about that conversation we weren't supposed to hear?_ Naruto asked the Kyuubi from the privacy of his own mind. He began to brush his teeth and get ready for bed like he had done for the past month while living in the Hyuuga estate.

"**The way they were talking about this Minato person, I'd say he is your father."** The vixen replied through Naruto's mindscape. This silent form of communication made the duo much more affective at thinking and discussing things. It's easier to think your words than say them aloud.

_So do you know who he is?_ Naruto asked. _Because I have absolutely no clue._

"**I don't know Naruto-kun, but we could go to the Hyuuga library and search through old records." **The Nine-tailed demon fox replied. _**"I'm not sure, but it's like a wisp of a memory…"**_

XXX—Flashback—XXX

_Namikaze Minato felt the cold, death-like spectral hand reach through him as the Death god stretched its arm out through Minato and towards the rampaging biju. As soon as its arm reached its target, the Nine-Tailed Fox froze. A blinding light filled the ravaged war zone as Minato directed the Kyuubi's form into his son. Almost instantly the demon was gone, and on Naruto's belly a swirl seal formed as black as the midnight sky._

"_Demon, if you can hear this, know that you will never escape." The Fourth Hokage coughed as the Death god moved in to claim its payment. "Aid my son in becoming the best person he can be." His voice weakened as life began to leave his body. "Teach him how to be strong, guide him to be a person of honor and courage." Minato was on his final reserves; the force of the Death god couldn't be delayed for long. "Help him learn my jutsu and become even greater than I." With his dying breath, Namikaze Minato managed to whisper. "I…Love…You…" He couldn't hold out any longer. With a savage yank, the Death god pulled Minato's spirit from his body and ate it, slowly disappearing into nothing as he swallowed._

XXX—End Flashback—XXX

Deep inside the Kyuubi's head, she processed this memory from when she was sealed inside the baby Naruto. _**"I can't just tell him…"**_

Naruto's thoughts snapped the Kyuubi back to the present. _That's a great idea Kyu-chan! Let's go tomorrow!_

"**Exactly when were you planning on doing this research?"** The demon vixen asked. **"In case you forgot, you have ninjutsu training with Itachi tomorrow in the morning, and then you're going to be working with Yugito and Nibi in the afternoon."**

_So?_ Naruto retorted. _I'm sure we could squeeze it in somewhere._

"**Maybe…But we won't have a lot of time to work every day." **The Kyuubi stated.

_Oh well. _Naruto sighed as he climbed into bed; the Kyuubi slipped off from around his neck and curled up on his stomack, right on top of the seal, and curled in the same direction as the black center swirl. _Good night Kyu-chan!_

"**Good night Naruto-kun."**

XXX

Jiraiya and Hiashi were deep in converation about…who else…Naruto.

"I don't know why Sensei trusts Itachi with Naruto's training, but if the old guy has a reason, it is probably a good bet that Itachi is alright." Jiraiya stated.

"I know, but something still feels off about the Uchiha's plots." Hiashi replied. "It doesn't help assuage my worries that it's the clan head's son and heir to the clan who is informing Sarutobi-sama about the Uchiha's moves. It's just really risky."

"In the game of espionage, tricks are all that some have to stay alive with." Jiraiya stated. He was Konoha's spymaster, so it was a safe bet that he knew everything when it came to intelligence gathering and counter intelligence. Tusnade the Legendary Sucker would probably rake in the cash if she bet on Jiraiya's spy knowledge.

"So Itachi's a double agent and is trainging Naruto on the side in leu of missions." Hiashi mumbled, something very uncharacteristic of the calm and collected Hyuuga.

"It's quite possible that Itachi is also training on his own in preparation for whatever the Uchiha have planned. "He's probably avoiding his father's suspicions by claiming it's for their plot. He's in a tricky position. He may be a prodigy, but even with the Sharingan, he wouldn't be able to take out the Uchiha clan…"

"You don't think it'll come to that do you?" Hiashi asked uncomfortable with the idea of such a clan killing.

"It might." Jiraiya said simply yet gravely.

XXX

Naruto awoke to the sound of birds chirping outside his window. It was too early: way too early. No one should be forced awake at the ungodly hour of six in the morning, yet Naruto willingly, alibitly a little grudgingly, got up. The blonde picked up the contently snoring Kyuubi and moved her so that she wouldn't be rolled off the bed when he stood up. Naruto stumbled over to his bathroom and dunked his head into a sink full of ice-cold water. Stars danced before his eyes as his brain tried to process the 'I'm freezing' signals his skin was sending.

Naruto gasped as he withdrew his head from the icy water. His head pounded as brain freeze set in. It was painful, but it was the only way to wake up quickly. He had research to do and he needed to make the time to do so. After partially drying his hair with a towel, Naruto ran his fingers through it, causing it to spike up. Normally his hair was droopy in the morning, but as the day wore on, it grew spikier and spikier.

Naruto was about to open his door and leave when he remembered the Kyuubi sleaping on his bed. He walked over and picked her up and set her around his next. **"zzzzz…more…bacon…zzzzz"** The Kyuubi mumbled in her sleap as the duo slipped out the door and walked down the silent hallways of the Hyuuga estate.

_Now where's the library?_

XXX—Omake—XXX

Hiashi sat in the library reading as per his usual morning custom. He sipped his cup of tea enjoying the herbal flavor. "Oh, Hiashi-sama, I didn't notice that you had left! Welcome back."

"Thank you." Hiashi sat upright as he heard his voice eminating from the enrance of the Hyuuga clan library.

Hiashi stood and froze. As he peered over the stacks, he saw himself standing by the doorway. Furiously he strode next to the impersonator. "Who are you?" He demanded. Grabbing the imposter by the shirt with a firm hand he readied himself to perform a junken strike.

Poof

When the cloud of smoke dissipated, Hiashi's hand was now firmly holding…a wonderful set of racks. The naked woman standing in front of him was well endowed in the bosum and looked…amazing.

"Hiashi-kun?" Hana entered the Library. Hiashi's back stiffened. His back was towards the door and his body hid the woman in front of him…for the moment. There wasn't enough time for a genjutsu…crud. "So what did you want to meet me here to talk ab…" Hana trailed off as she saw her husband with a completely naked woman standing before him. She began to tear up.

"Hana-chan, I can explain." Hiashi began, but the blonde woman before him began to giggle histarically.

Poof

"OOOOHHH! Hiashi-san!" Naruto cried out, rolling and laughing on the floor unable to control himself. "You should have seen the look on your face! HAHAHAHAHA!"

Several tickmarks appeared on both Haishi and Hana's foreheads. "NARUTO!!!!"

Thus the chace was on and the Prankster King of Konoha was born.

XXX

**Alright!!! Naruto has learned about the name Minato and is starting his quest to find answers that might reveal who his parents are. And what do you think of the Omake?**

**Stay tunned for the next chapter and send me reviews. I know people like to vote, but would you please comment about the writing as well??? THANKS A MILLION!**

**~Cyberviper42~**


	8. Chapter 8: Research and Hellfire

**Alright! Chapter 8 is coming your way!! I would like to say that even if the pairings that you want do not appear bellow, please give them to me so I can put them in. **

**The votes as of Saturday, June 13, 2009 are as follows:**

**Votes for Pairs:**

**Naruto/femKyuubi-----12Naruto/Hinata-----12Shikamaru/Temari-----1**

**Neji/Tenten-----1Iruka/Shizune-----1Kakashi/Anko-----1**

**Choji/Ino-----1Naruto/Yugito-----1Naruto/Anko-----3**

**Itachi/Anko-----2Naruto/Kurenai-----2**

**Votes for Harem:**

**Naruto/FemHaku/Hinata-----4Naruto/FemKyuubi/Yugito/Nibi-----5**

**Naruto/Hinata/FemKyuubi/Temari-----1Naruto/FemKyuubi/Yugito-----2**

**Naruto/FemKyuubi/Kurenai-----21Naruto/FemKyuubi/Hinata-----3**

**Naruto/Hinata/FemKyuubi/Temari-----3Naruto/FemKyuubi/Hinata/FemHaku-----1**

**Naruto/FemKyuubi/Yugito/Nibi/Anko-----1Naruto/FemKyuubi/Kurenai/FemHaku-----1**

**Itachi/Anko/Yugito-----1**

**I'm pretty much descided to do a Harem for Naruto; I'm just not sure who to have in it yet. But don't stop voting for a single pair! I haven't set my mind yet. I haven't seen many Itachi/Yugito fanfics and my previous naruto fic was going to be one until I decided to work on this story instead. That's the only one that I'm, like, 80 precent sure of. Depending on the harem, the other pairings may vary. On a side note I wonder what an Itachi/Anko/Yugito harem would be like…Hmmmm…**

**I would like to set a goal for all you reviewers out there who are itching to press the 'send review' button after reading this chapter. I would like to set a goal of 100 reviews after this chapter and quite frankly I think that it is 100 percent achievable. Currently Together or Alone has received 85 reviews and the last two chapters have gotten 22+, so just keep on reviewing and giving me your opinions about my work so far. On a side note, the hit count is almost a 10,000. I would defiantly like to see that mark reached and passed with this chapter**

**ALERT!!! I have finals coming up and then Level 1 certification so I can teach sailing…so the next chapter might be a bit delayed.**

**A big thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far and read my story.**

**READ AND REVIEW!!!**

Chapter 8: Research and Hellfires

Naruto padded silently into the library. The Kyuubi was still asleap around his neck, but that was only thanks to Naruto. There were several times when the vixen stirred and began to wake up, but Naruto had subjected her to intense behind-the-ear scratching sessions to lull her back to sleep.

The Hyuuga clan estate was very still in the morning, something that our Blonde didn't know simply because he had never woken up this early. The birds were chirping in the trees and waking up their nestmates. All in all the morning calm was a very peaceful setting and was something that Naruto wished to leave undisturbed. For once in the past month, Naruto was trying to move around the compound without attracting attention, something that just happened naturally. His blonde hair and blue eyes and lack of white robes were clear indications that he; number 1 was not a Hyuuga; and number two, was Naruto and therefore, needed to be watched less he be kidnapped or attacked.

Surprisingly, Naruto didn't need to use the Henge ninjutsu he had learned yesterday. There was no one in the halls, making it easy to move about the estate. In a matter of ten minutes, Naruto found the library.

It wasn't as large as the public library that he had seen, but never been allowed to enter, but never the less, the Hyuuga library was about the same size as the clan's training hall. The volumes of books and clan records were extensive and housed on floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. Naruto stared in awe at the sheer quantity of material he would have to sift through in order to find the information he was searching for.

"**Oh! Looks like we've got some work to do." **The Kyuubi said aloud. Naruto jumped, as he hadn't felt her stir or wake up. **"Let's see here…" **The vixen used the tree climbing exercise to walk up the side on one bookshelf to get a better look at a small plaque fastened to the wood.

"What does the sign say?" Naruto asked, curious as to why the Kyuubi had found intrest in the inscription.

"**This tells us what books and other records are on the shelves."** The Kyuubi replied. **"We want to look into family records from then Hiashi-san was a Genin. It's quite possible that he met this minato person then,"**

"That might explain why both Ero-Sannin and Hiashi-san knew about Minato." Naruto stated, thinking aloud.

"**Ero-Sannin?"** The vixen asked, not knowing why Jiraiya would refer to Jiraiya in such a rude manner.

"Hiashi-san said that he had perverted thoughts when they were talking alone last night." Naruto explained. "He's a sannin and a pervert, so therefore he is Ero-Sannin."

"**Makes sense."** The demon fox replied. **"Besides it'll annoy him to no end."** The duo grinned simultaneously.

It took the pair nearly an hour to find one particular stack of books and records that might hold the information they were looking for. By that time the Hyuuga clan was awake and…IT WAS TIME TO EAT!!! Both Naruto's and the Kyuubi's stomachs growled at the same time and they dashed out of the library looking for a meal. They could continue the research another time. Right now it was time to eat!

XXX

"Nii-san!" Came the shrill cry of one Uchiha Sasuke trying to get the attention of this older brother. "Will you help me train today?"

Itachi looked at his mother and father at the breakfast table. The entire head family of the Uchiha clan lived in relative isolation from the rest of the clan, and so the table the four of them sat at only had enough places for four people. There was no escape.

"Why don't you Itachi-kun?" His mother asked. "You never have time to spend with the family when you are in ANBU mission rotation. Now that you are out with this new, long-term, solo B-rank, you could make some time for Sasuke-kun."

"I will talk to Hokage-sama about the possibility of reducing the time spent on the mission." Itachi replied smoothly. "However I don't know if he will allow it. He seems to deem this mission somewhat important."

"Ask anyway." Fugaku commanded his eldest son.

"Hai, father." Itachi replied respectfully. "I must be going if I wish to speak with Hokage-sama this morning."

The eldest Uchiha son stood up and placed his dishes in the kitchen sink. Sighing he washed his hands while looking out over the Uchiha gardens. _I might be able to get Sasuke good enough to be Naruto's sparing partner…_Itachi froze in mid thought. For several seconds he didn't move. Water rushed over his hands unnoticed.

"Is something the matter Itachi-kun?" His mother asked.

"No Kaa-san." Itachi replied. "It's just that I got an idea that could convince Hokage-sama to let me take the time the train Sasuke."

"AWESOME!!!" Sasuke couldn't help but yell in excitement. "You're the best Nii-san!"

"Don't get your hopes up yet little brother." Itachi said as he finished drying off his hands and bending his knees so that his chest remained upright, but his head was at Sasuke's level. He poked said little brother on the forehead. "I still have to convince Hokage-sama, but I'll try my best." With that, Itachi stood up and went to his room to prepare for a day of teaching.

XXX

"Uchiha Itachi to see you Hokage-sama." Sarutobi's secretary announced the Sharingan weilder's presence.

"Let him in please." Sarutobi instructed the woman outside his office door. Itachi was admitted, and the door was firmly closed behind him. "What is it Itachi-san?"

"Hokage-sama, I wish to train my little brother Sasuke along with Naruto." Itachi stated simply, cutting straight to the point.

"I see…" The Sandaime Hokage pondered the request for a moment. "Why do you wish to do so?"

"It solves two problems that I have. The first is that it would give Naruto a sparring partner and someone to compare his skills to. The second is that it will help reduce the amount of suspicion that my father already has." Itachi stated his argument to the village leader. "Yesterday it took me an hour to shake a tail that I aquired after speaking with my father. I believe he is suspicious about the close contact I've had with you."

"I see…" Sarutobi sighed and then gave his answer. "I suppose that it wouldn't hurt. Does Fugaku know you are trainging Naruto?"

"No, but I'm sure that he will find out soon enough." Itachi replied. "I don't think I could keep Sasuke from mentioning Naruto to Father."

"I guess you are right." Sarutobi stated. "Very well, you may tell Fugaku about your 'mission' and train Sasuke at the same time."

"Thank you Hokage-sama." Itachi said before disappearing in a cloud of leaves and smoke. An instant later the Uchiha was back in the Uchiha estate and searching for his little brother. Itachi found his little brother standing in one of the Uchiha clan training grounds. He was by far the youngest one there by several years, yet he was throwing practice Kunai and Shuriken at soft targets.

"Sasuke." Itachi murmered from a meter behind his younger brother.

"Nii-san!" Sasuke turned and jumped onto his older brother. "Are you here to train me?"

"Yes and no." Itachi replied. "Gather your things we've got to be somewhere in a few minutes." Sasuke scampered down the throwing range to gather his practice tools with a happy skip in his stride. In less than a minute, Sasuke was all packed and getting a piggyback ride from Itachi. "Hold on tight."

"'Kay!" Sasuke chirped and tightened his grip around his Nii-san's neck. Itachi took off, bounding over Konoha roofs at his ANBU speed. Three minutes later Itachi stood before a somewhat annoyed Naruto and Kyuubi no Kitsune.

"He's still late even though he was the one who set the meeting time this morning." Naruto complained.

"**At least he's not an hour and a half late like yesterday."** The Kyuubi defended the Uchiha slightly. Keyword: slightly.

"Naruto-kun, Kyuubi-san, I would like to introduce my little brother Sasuke." Itachi knelt down and let Sasuke climb off his back. "Be polite, say hello Sasuke."

"Hello, Naruto-san, Kyuubi—wait, I though the Kyuubi was killed!" Sasuke blurted out in the middle of his greeting. "Right nii-san? The Yondaime killed the big bad demon before he died!"

"**I am not dead."** The Kyuubi snorted a little. **"Far from it. Although the Fourth was a powerful shinobi, he couldn't kill me."**

"Then you're just living free in Konoha now, didn't you nearly destroy the village?" Sasuke demanded.

"**Listen, I was sealed away into Naruto because I was tricked into attacking Konoha."** The vixen admitted. **"So I am not 'free' in the manner that you think."**

"Then how are you talking to me?" Sasuke asked, trying to edge closer to his nii-san whom obviously could protect him from the most powerful Biju in the world.

"**Because I found a way to get around the seal and let some of my power out."** The nine-tailed demon fox replied. **"The only thing holding me back is my own will, Naruto's will, and the seal."**

"Wait, you don't want to destroy Konoha?" Sasuke asked.

"That's right!" Naruto said for the first time. "Kyu-chan an I are going to get super strong so we can beat up the teme who tricked her into attacking Konoha."

"So you are a good guy now?" Sasuke asked the Kyuubi.

"**I'm a lady and as long as you don't harm Naruto-kun, I am not against you."** The Kyuubi replied. **"I will also protect those who are Naruto's precious people. I am the Kyuubi no Kitsune and that is my word."**

"Well, now that you know everyone, let's start training." Itachi said, putting an end to Sasuke's questions.

"Sweat!" Naruto exclaimed. "What jutsus are we going to learn today, Itachi-sensei?"

"Sensei?" Sasuke picked up on the word. Turning to Itachi Sasuke pointed and acusitory finger. "So all those times you said you were too busy to train me, you were training Naruto? That's not fair Nii-san! I'm your brother!"

"Actually, we just started training together yesterday." Naruto answered for Itachi, immediately quelling Sasuke's rant.

"That's correct. Sasuke-kun, being and ANBU captain didn't leave a lot of room for family." Itachi said and then smiled. "Are you ready to become strong?"

"YES!" Sasuke shouted. "What are you going to teach me first? A Katon ninjutsu? Or…or…or maybe a lightning ninjutsu?"

"Slow down Sasuke." Itachi firmly ordered. "In order to teach you those jutsus, you have to master chakra control."

"So…what do I have to do?" Sasuke asked.

"Show him the tree climbing excersize Naruto." Itachi commanded. "Watch what Naruto does." Naruto walked over to the nearest tree and simply walked up until he was in the higher branches. Then he returned to find Itachi telling Sasuke how the excersize worked.

"You channel your chakra into your feet and use it to adhear to the tree." Itachi said, "Too much and you will be shot off the tree, and too little and you will find yourself in a heap at the bottom." With those words, Sasuke ran to the tree Naruto had climbed and tried to replicate the blonde's amazing ascent…he failed miserably.

Naruto made a shadow clone and instructed his double to help the young Uchiha master the tree-climbing excersize. The clone examined the tree with a critical eye before declaring: "Too little chakra."

"Huh?" Sasuke looked at the clone and then the original Naruto. "How are there two of you?"

"This is a shadow clone." The original Naruto said pointing at his double. "He knows everything I do and has some autonomy. He'll be helping you master this technique so that Itachi-sensei can teach you the really cool stuff. With his help you can move through this quickly and then get to my level soon."

"That's cool!" Sasuke looked at the clone and gave him a small poke. "I thought clones weren't solid! This one is!"

"That's because it is a shadow clone created by using the Kage Bushin no Jutsu." Itachi explained how it was a difficult and dangerous technique if one didn't have the chakra required to create a clone. "The only reason that Naruto is allowed to use this technique is because Kyuubi-san has enhanced this chakra reserves."

"How can I get large chakra reserves like Naruto?" Sasuke asked his older brother who, in the little Uchiha's opinion, knew everything.

"By doing the tree-climbing exercise over and over again until it becomes subconscious and trivial to use." Itachi replied. "By that time, you might have enough chakra to use the Kage Bushin no Jutsu, but I'd wait until you have mastered several lower ranked fire ninjutsus so that you have some experience. That way it'll be even more effective."

"Sweet!" Sasuke pumped a little fist in the air. "So how much more chakra should I put into this?" Sasuke asked Naruto's clone.

"Try twice as much." The blonde replica suggested. "That'll give us a better idea of how you are doing."

Letting the clone and Sasuke work by themselves, Itachi took Naruto to another portion of the training ground. "We are going to continue perfecting the Kage Bushin no Jutsu today."

"Could I learn a new Jutsu as well?" Naruto asked hopefully. "Maybe as a test to see how well I can learn things through my clones?"

""We'll see how you perform for now." Itachi replied, slipping into his cold ninja mask **(Author's note: This is not a litteral mask like the ANBU wear, but an expressionless face like Sai has when he isn't smiling.)**. "Perhaps latter."

XXX

Itachi impassively watched Naruto huffing and puffing while sprawled out on the ground. The blonde haired jinchuuriki had surpassed his expectations; completing all the tasks Itachi assigned him to do with his shadow clones. Wiping the spittle on his chin with a sleeve, Naruto slowly eased himself into a somewhat upright position.

"How was that Itachi-sensei?" Naruto asked. "Can I go get something for lunch now? I'm starving."

"You don't want to learn a new jutsu?" Itachi asked curiously. The boy had been so adiment about being ready for a new jutsu if he had done well in today's training—which he had.

"Could you teach my clone?" Naruto asked. "I sooo want some food right now I could eat an entire ramen stand." Itachi inwardly smirked at the casual comment. If Naruto could put down eight or nine bowls of ramen when he wasn't hungry, Itachi didn't want to be the one paying when Naruto was as hungry as he claimed to be at the moment. The ANBU captain didn't doubt that the seven-year-old could eat every last ramen noodle in a ramen stand at the moment.

"I don't see why not." Itachi said with a smirk as the made a shadow clone to teach Naruto's clone a ninjutsu. A fire ninjutsu might be appropriate since he was bonded to the Kyuubi no Kitsune, also known as the fire demon. "Let's see how Sasuke is doing with your other clone before we head out to lunch."

"Alright!" Naruto jumped up and stuffed his hands behind his head and walked next to Itachi in a carefree manner. Itachi looked at him out of the corner of his eye as they walked. With his carefree attitude and the Kyuubi bouncing along at his side, he'd be the star attraction at the academy if none of the parents hardened their children. But that was already happening…Naruto needed friends. From what he had heard around the village, the 'demon brat' was spending tons of time with poor, innocent, defenseless Hyuuga Hinata and had somehow tricked the whole Hyuuga clan into liking him.

A load of nonsense of course, but that was besides the issue. One friend wasn't enough. Still thinking, Itachi went on autopilot and walked to where Sasuke was practicing the tree climbing excersize and succeeding quite well from the looks of it. Slash marks covered the bark as they marked Sasuke's progress. So far they stretched up half the tree. Quite impressive for someone Sasuke's age.

Naruto's clone noticed them and then stabbed himself in the stomach with one of Sasuke's practice kunai. Naruto winced slightly as the clone's memories rushed into his mind. The raven-haired Uchiha boy was quite determined to catch up to his brother. Constantly living in a relative's shadow like Sasuke has would explain his raction.

"Sasuke, we're going to get lunch." Itachi told his younger brother.

"Go ahead, I'm going to keep working." Sasuke wearily replied.

"You know that you'll be able to regain some chakra if you rest and have something to eat." Itachi stated. "So come with us."

"…Alright…" Sasuke stood up slowly and looked up at his brother. "So where are we going to go?"

"Ano…"

"Not ramen." Itachi cut Naruto off in a heartbeat.

"How about Bar-be-que?" Sasuke asked.

"That sounds good." Itachi replied.

"I guess so…" Naruto sighed. He had been looking forward to ramen, but Sasuke's suggestion sounded good so the blonde went along without complaint. If he was being honest with himself, Naruto would have admitted that something more substantial than ramen would prepare him for an afternoon of trainging. Speaking of which, today was the first session with Yugito. She had been in communication and on good terms with the Nibi for years and with her knowledge of being a jinchuuriki, Naruto would be able to do well in his life as a ninja of Konoha.

With the Uchiha brothers, Naruto's lunch hour went fairly well. The blonde noticed that when he was with Itachi, the villagers were somewhat forced to be nice to him. The blonde stored that away for later evaluation and focused on regaining his spent chakra and mentally sorting out his memories gathered from his clones, trying to prepare himself for a long afternoon of harsh training.

If it weren't for the Kyuubi's help, he would have a mind-splitting, deblitiating migrane. His fragile seven-year-old mind still wasn't capable of processing huge loads of information like someone of Itachi's caliber could. It was something to come with age, experience, and maturity as Itachi had put it. Naruto put that train of though from his mind and began to think about what his training was going to be like.

XXX

Naruto sat next to his ninjutsu sensei waiting for Nii Yugito to arrive at the training ground. After a nice lunch of Bar-be-que, Naruto felt ready to train. Granted today's lunch wasn't as filling, or a good tasting as ramen, but it was satisfactory and that was all that mattered in Naruto's mind. Even after over a month training and living in the Hyuuga estate, Naruto still held on to habits he picked up in his early life. Basic survival instincts that required him to 'fill up' at every meal because…who knew when he could eat next? Living on his own, even with his Kyu-chan's help, Naruto had trouble eating regularly. Procuring food from the village and the surrounding forest was no easy chore for him.

The only clue that Naruto had that something was going to happen, was Itachi stiffening slightly as he stood passively next to his charge. Four masked ANBU dropped from tree-level, accompanying them was Nii Yugito…or rather they were accompanying her. Her tail/guard allowed her to move forward and greet the two residents of the clearing.

"H-Hello…um…my name is Nii Yugito." She was nervous. Both her stuttering and the way she stood were blaring declarations to Itachi, and only her stuttering informed Naruto that something was 'up.' "I haven't met you yet…" She turned to Itachi and continued. "…What is your name?"

"Uchiha Itachi." Replied the Sharingan wielder impassively. Even though he was young, his name had spread among the five elemental nations due to his innate talent with not only his bloodline limit, but in the shinobi arts in general.

"it is a pleasure to meet you Itachi-san." Yugito replied respectfully. "I assume that you are the Jounin supervisor?"

"Pardon?" Itachi asked, not knowing to what the Nibi's jichuuriki was referring to.

"Hokage-sama informed me that there was to be a jounin supervisor while I trained Uzumaki Naruto." Yugito answered, trying to explain the situation tactfully. "Pardon me if I was wrong, but I assumed that you were the one assigned to that task."

"I was not made aware of that condition…" The Uchiha trailed off for a moment, thinking about what to do. "…However I will fill that role for now until someone comes to fill it. Is this satisfactory for your orders?" He asked the ANBU operatives in their presence.

"It is." One of them replied. He wore a bear mask and was dressed in a standard ANBU uniform.

"Very well then…Naruto, this is Nii Yugito." Itachi 'introduced' the two.

While the Kyuubi hadn't said anything up until this point, she had remained attentive and listened to the conversation carefully. **"So what is my little kit going to learn today?"**

"Yah!" Naruto grinned, flashing his trademark foxy grin. "Some super jutsus?...or maybe some really cool tricks?"

Nii Yugito smiled and chuckled slightly at Naruto's enthusiasm. "Nothing like that today." She said and watched Naruto's eyes sadden. "However, we are going to talk about some interesting things which you are 100 percent guaranteed to be interested in."

Naruto stopped looking so down but didn't say anything to this.

"ANBU-san?" Yugito attracted the attention of the Bear masked ANBU.

"Hai."

"Could you give us some privacy please?" She asked. "Just enough so that it doesn't feel like I'm lecturing to everyone?"

"We will be in striking range." He replied and then signaled for his team to disperse into the surrounding trees.

"What about me?" Itachi asked calmly, waiting for directions of somesort. He half expected this Kumo Kunoichi to take off with Naruto at the first chance she got, regardless of the fact that she had an entire team of ANBU just waiting for her to to exactly that.

"Hokage-sama told me that you were to be trusted with whatever we talked about." Nii Yugito replied. "As such if you wish to stay here and listen I don't really mind. It might be beneficial for him to have a second person to remind him of things if I am not around."

"**Glad to see you didn't forget about me…"** The Kyuubi stated.

"I'd be a fool to do so." Yugito stated simply in reply to the demon fox.

"Very well, I will stay and listen." Itachi said after a moment to think. Currently Sasuke was practicing his throwing weapons with one of Itachi's shadow clones, that was left with instructions to send his younger sibling home before it dispersed.

"Now, Naruto, what has Kyuubi-san taught you about Jinchuuriki and Biju?" Yugito asked, starting the afternoon lesson.

"Not much really." Naruto answered truthfully. "She's only told me about that whole tails and animal hierarchy thing."

"**It's true."**__The red vixen confirmed Naruto's statement. **"I didn't think that he was ready for me to explain everything that there is to know." **

"I see." Muttered Yugito attempting to figure out where to start the lesson…with the Nibi's help of course. "Well, let's start with what makes Jinchuuriki unique." With that, Yugito launched into a lecture that while containing all the information she needed to convey to the blonde, also held his attention.

"All Biju hold sway over some element or force of nature, that is basically why they are so powerful. You must have heard rumors about how Kyuubi-san could do increadible things with a simple swish of her tails." Naruto nodded, indicating that he had indeed heard the tales. "What elements did they mention?"

"I don't really know." Naruto replied. "All they said was that it was a powerful attack."

"**I'm primarily a fire demon, however, I do have some control over the wind."** The Kyuubi suplimented, hoping the information would be useful.

"When a Biju is sealed inside a human at birth, the child's chakra system isn't developed, so the demon can influence many things about their host, such as their elemental affinities. That is also why jinchuuriki tend to have some physical traits caused by their 'tenent.' The more powerful or forceful the Biju, the more traits the child will exibit. When someone looks at you they can cleary see your wisker birthmarks, and when someone sticks around you more, they probably recognize some other traits that might not be terribly obvious."

"Like him having a…foxy personality?" Itachi asked.

"**Hmm…I guess that's a reason I like my Naruto-kun so much…" **The Kyuubi chuckled a little. **"Or maybe not."**

"A foxy personality could be one of many, but it's almost a guarentee that he received that trait from Kyuubi-san." Yugito continued to lecture to the blonde and the Uchiha. "In addition to the normal elements, Biju often have special techniques that are based on their demonic nature. Nibi happens to to have a high lightening and fire elemental affinities, and her specialty is known to Kumo residents as 'Ice Fire."

"Ummm…aren't those, like, totally opposite things?" Naruto asked, defiantly confused.

"It's all a name Naruto, in reality it is probably a very deadly and powerful technique." Itachi stated coolly, not seeming to care about the Nibi's abilities. "Names don't always have to describe what a jutsu does, they can simply be a discription of what it looks like."

"That's exactly the case with the Nibi and I." Yugito stated. "Her attack is essentially super-heated, electric blue fire." She took a breath to let her tongue catch up with her mind. The description of the Nibi's fires wasn't exactly that easy to say. "I would demonstrate it for you, but unfortuantly, Nibi's chakra has been sealed away for now."

"Wait, so you can use the Nibi's techniques?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, but—" Yugito tried to answer but Naruto's exclamation sut her off.

"SWEEET!!!" The blonde jinchuuriki—scratch that—Yugito is a blonde as well… The Younger blonde jinchuuriki literally squealed like a…well…the child he is. "So I could maybe use some of Kyu-chan's jutsus?" He asked once he had calmed down a tad bit.

"**That would be interesting…"** The demon vixen stated as she curled up in Naruto's lap, allowing the boy to stroke her fur and send her into bliss for a moment.

"Yes…it is quite possible for a jinchuuriki to learn to use their Biju's jutsus, however it takes a lot of pain and suffering in order to utilize such jutsus." Nii Yugito said. "The reason that normal humans cannot come into contact with a Biju or other demon is that demonic chakra is extremely volatile and corrosive to human flech and chakra pathways. However, Jinchuuriki can get around this problem because they have always been in contact with demonic chakra since just minutes after they are born. A baby's chakra network is undeveloped and after the introduction of demonic chakra, the body simply adapts to it and slowly builds up a tolerance to it."

"So I could use some of Kyu-chan's techniques with a little training?" Naruto asked Yugito.

"Do you remember how I said that it took a lot of pain and suffering to use those jutsus?" Yugito asked and watched Naruto nod his head. She hadn't said it _that_ long ago. "Just because Jinchuuriki have some immunity to demonic chakra, doesn't mean that we can use it indescriminatly. Demon chakra actually 'burns' humans and so Jinchuuriki who wish to use their Biju's techniques must allow more demonic chakra to flow through them to build up their resistance."

"**Should I circulate some of my chakra through Naruto-kun so he gets an idea?" **The Kyuubi asked Yugito.

"That would probably be worthwhile." Yugito replied.

The Kyuubi poofed out of existence in the physical world and re-appeared inside Naruto's mindscape. Back behind bars in a damp,…dark,…,dreary,…depressing…sewer of a mindscape that Naruto had. It was all the bad experiences that he had as a child at the hands of an angry and revenge-driven village.

Sighing she went to work and brought her chakra to bear. Skillfully she allowed a small portion to seep underneath the massive metal gate that held her back. The red chakra flowed out of the large room and sweapt through Naruto's mindscape. On the outside, Naruto could feel the power of the demon fox's chakra. For a moment he felt great, but then a burning, searing and agonizing pain. The young blonde gasped, trying to fill his lungs with air in the midst of such increadible pain. Gritting his teeth, Naruto forced his diaphram to contract and fill his lungs with life-giving air.

Naruto would have blacked out if the chakra surge hadn't withdrawn back into the Kyuubi's cage. With the red chakra finally returning to normal levels in his chakra system, Naruto gasped for breath trying to fill his oxygen-starved lungs.

"That was only a small dose of Kyuubi-san's chakra." Yugito said as she watched Naruto struggle to lift his head to look at her. "That wasn't even enough to use one of her jutsus."

"Th-that was s-so painful…" Naruto struggled into a sitting position. "Is that what I have to go through?" He paled at the thought of having to suffer such pain.

"Not quite." Yugito answered the boy's question. "If you want to go through with this training, we will start with much lower…doses, for the lack of a better term, and when you won't notice it like when you are asleep." She blonde teenager stopped speaking and allowed a few minutes to pass in silence where Naruto gradually regained his composure.

"Should I bring Kyu-chan back out?" Naruto asked his fellow jinchuuriki.

"If you can." Yugito replied and watched Naruto form the fox seal and summon forth the Kyuubi. With a puff of smoke, the blood-red vixen appeared with a solitary tail. The only difference from her appearance just minutes ago was her size. She was currently about the same height at the shoulder as Naruto was tall.

Even though they didn't make their presence known, the ANBU situated around the clearing, stiffened. They had been the lucky ones who survived the time the demon had attacked Konoha, and the sight of her freely walking around froze them in their tracks. To be honest, they were beginging to doubt the Hokage's decision to allow the Kyuubi to stay outside Naruto's body. Was this not the demon that caused the death of the Yondaime?

Desciding to stay in her large form for a while, the Kyuubi settled down next to Naruto and let him lean against her side.

"So what is your super special technique?" Naruto asked his fox partner. Naruto contently partially buried his head into the Kyuubi's fur and sighed.

"**It's called Hellfire."** The vixen replied. As she spoke, vibrations passed into Naruto's body because of his physical contact with the demon. **"It is essentially black fire that will incinerate anything that it comes in contact with."**

Naruto's eyes were as wide as dinner plates as he listened the Kyuubi speak about her technique. **"The Uchiha clan's founder is capable of something similar with his accursed eyes, but it isn't true Hellfire."**

Now it was Itachi's turn to speak after the fox mentioned his clan's founder. "You mean Uchiha Madara?"

"**The one and only."** The Kyuubi grumbled.

"But he died nearly seventy years ago!" Itachi exclaimed. "Why did you refer to him in the present tense?"

"**It's obvious isn't it?"** The Kyuubi replied. **"He's still alive in some form or another."**

"How do you know?" Naruto asked.

"**Because I met him and his accursed eyes nearly twenty years ago."** She stated. **"I don't really want to talk about it right now. Maybe later, but right now we need to figure out how Naruto can gain control over my Hellfire correct?"** She turned her head towards Yugito who simply nodded.

"That's correct Kyuubi-san." She stated. "Nibi and I developed a hand seal that was key to allowing me access to her Ice Fire. The first step is to make a handseal for you two and—"

"Done!" Chirped Naruto as he contorted his hands into the fox seal. Yugito recognized it from when he summoned the Kyuubi into the physical world.

"That's the seal you used earlier, right?" She asked, looking to confirm her memories.

"**It is."** The Kyubi answered for Naruto. **"I developed it specifically to circumnavigate our seal so I could come into the physical world. Itachi-san is analyzing it for us so we can figure out its uses."**

Itachi cleared his throat in preparation to speak. "I haven't made much progress with it so far due to simply the lack of time I've had, but so far the only thing I can make sense of is that it requires demonic chakra."

"How'd you figure that out?" Naruto asked his sensei.

"I tried to use the seal, but it didn't work." Itachi answered simply. "The only thing that my Sharingan had gleaned from your demonstration was your chakra moving through the seal. My theory is that the natural trace amounts of demonic chakra in your system make the difference."

"That is probably the case with your handseal." Yugito stated. "My cat seal with the Nibi cannot be used by anyone else in Kumo except for the Raikage's brother who is the eight-tail's jinchuuriki."

"That's kinda cool actually…" Naruto said. "So another jinchuuriki can use my Fox seal?"

"Possibly," Yugito answered. "But I have a theory that a jinchuuriki cannot use the handseal of a higher-tailed jinchuuriki. I still haven't mastered Killer Bee's special Ox handseal."

"Killer Bee?" Naruto asked, unsure to what, or whom Yugito was referring to.

"He's the jinchuuriki of the Hachibi, or eight-tailed Ox." Yugito explained. "I cannot use their handseal, although they can use mine."

"That's kinda interesting." Naruto said randomly. "I wonder if a jinchuuriki of a seven-tailed fox could learn your handseal."

"**Those who have non-Biju demons sealed inside of them are not considered jinchuuriki."** The Kyuubi stated. **"Rather they are simply humans with a demon within them. Usually no one knows about them, and thus they are not recorded in human history."**

"Oh." Naruto and Yugito said at the same time. Even though Yugito was teaching Naruto about how a jinchuuriki utilizes their curse to maximum potential, she didn't know everything about demons. She was still learning.

"So anyway, Kyuubi-san, would you please demonstrate your Hellfire if you could?" Yugito politely asked the fox demon.

"**Sure, but what about the ANBU in the trees?"** The Kyuubi asked. **"I don't want to kill them or scare them into attacking. I never used Hellfire before when I was sealed, so they might be really afraid."**

"I'll get them out of the way." Itachi said coolly and them disappeared in a flicker of movement.

Less than thirty seconds later, the ANBU were standing at attention next to Itachi, Yugito and Naruto. The Kyuubi was a little ways off and was standing with her lone tail stiffly held straight back. She held her mouth open as if she was panting, but her tounge was inside her maw. Slowly a black orb appeared, suspended inbetween her upper and lower jaw, inches behind the tip of her snout. The black orb slowly grew larger and so did the temperature. What had just been a cool afternoon was now a scorching blaze of heat.

Black whisps of flame, long and thin gradually grew from the black ball of fire and cracked around the demon fox like whips. They danced like tails but wherever they struck ground, a crater would form as the material was reduced to nothing more than soot. After what seemed like an eternity, but in reality just over a minute, the Kyuubi released her Hellfire with a loud rumbling growl.

XXX

Back in Konoha nearly every ninja, jounin level or higher (this includes Sannin and Kage levels), felt the surge of demonic chakra eminating from Training Ground 12.

The Sandaime Hokage teleported from his office to the top of the Hokage's tower to see the horizon in the direction of Training Ground 12 glow black for a moment, climaxing the same moment the demonic chakra did.

Hatake Kakashi, known for being the laziest ninja in Konoha next to Nara Shikaku, looked up from an orange book and glared at the horizon. He hated that feeling of demonic chakra, especially that of the Kyuubi: the beast that caused his sensei, the Yondaime Hokage, Namikaze Minato to die. Snapping his book closed angrily he disappeared from the bookstore with the latest copy of the Icha Icha series w_ithout even paying!_ The storeowner was very angry indeed.

XXX

Kakashi arrived at Training Ground twelve in time to see the Kyuubi unleash her Hellfire at a clump of poor defenseless and innocent trees. He only said two words, just like everyone else in the clearing, ANBu included.

"Holy shit!"

XXX

**Bwahahahahaha!!! A cliffhanger of **_**DOOM!!!!**_

**Anyway, please tell me what you think of this chapter and specifically the stuff about Jinchuuriki. I'm not done explaining everything yet, so if you have questions, ASK THEM!!! I want to include them so I can have a really nice and complete original aspect of this story.**

**I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, which is the LONGEST OF THE STORY SO FAR!!!! Nearly 7000 words. **

**Keep sending me votes for pairings! Please. I would like to know if I'm about to comit story suicide by picking the wrong pairs.**

**READ AND REVIEW!!!**

**~Cyberviper42~**


	9. Chapter 9: Uchiha, Uchiha, UhOh

**YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! (author goes off and does a little jig.)**

**Thank you very much for all your reviews especially boosting Together or Alone over the 100 reviews mark! Also, We've cleared the 10k hit mark by a long shot like I knew we would. In addition, we're at ever 46,000 words in only eight chapters!!!**

**The votes as of Saturday, July 3, 2009 are as follows:**

**Votes for Pairs:**

**Naruto/femKyuubi-----16Naruto/Hinata-----14Shikamaru/Temari-----1**

**Neji/Tenten-----1Iruka/Shizune-----1Kakashi/Anko-----1**

**Choji/Ino-----1Naruto/Yugito-----1Naruto/Anko-----3**

**Itachi/Anko-----4Naruto/Kurenai-----2**

**Votes for Harem:**

**Naruto/FemHaku/Hinata-----4Naruto/FemKyuubi/Yugito/Nibi-----7**

**Naruto/Hinata/FemKyuubi/Temari-----1Naruto/FemKyuubi/Yugito-----2**

**Naruto/FemKyuubi/Kurenai-----24Naruto/FemKyuubi/Hinata-----4**

**Naruto/Hinata/FemKyuubi/Temari-----3Naruto/FemKyuubi/Hinata/FemHaku-----3**

**Naruto/FemKyuubi/Yugito/Nibi/Anko-----1Naruto/FemKyuubi/Kurenai/FemHaku-----1**

**Itachi/Anko/Yugito-----1**

**A Shout Out to 'Dakar revolutionist to come' for being the hundredth reviewer!**

Chapter 9: Uchiha, Uchiha, Uh-Oh!

Hatake Kakashi, known as the Copy Ninja of Konoha, the only non-Uchiha to weild the mighty Sharingan, was stunned. Yes, stunned. In front of him was a wide stretch of land blackened from fire. Not just any fire, mind you, fire from the Kyuubi no Kitsune, the Nine-tailed demon fox, the strongest of the mighty Biju. The mon-occular shinobi had arrived in the clearing just in time to witness the fearsome blast. It had left scorch marks spreading out from in front of the fox, starting only a few meters in front of the now glowing Biju. Red, malevolent chakra covered over every surface of the fox, encasing it in a bubble of evil.

The actual damage was impressive to say the least. It was more along the lines of unbelievable, but the proof was right in front of them. Where there once stood proud trees and forest was now a black and grey layer of soot. Forget charcoal or even ashes, there was next to nothing left after the Hellfire tore through the training ground. It was so hot that even from thirty meters away in his tree, Kakashi's skin felt like it was burning. Random leaves closer to the fox had spontaneously combusted due to the sheer heat. It was not an attack one wanted directed even remotely towards them. The damage along the fringes would ensure a painful death. Even if the obvious damage wasn't enough to convince someone of the power behind the jutsu, the ground itself was glowing underneath the thin layer of soot, giving the blast zone an unsettling orange tint.

Kakashi jumped next to Uchiha Itachi who was standing next to the jinchuuriki of the damned fox and an unfamiliar Kunoichi. Dispite his turbulent emotions, the Copy nin made a note to himself to get to know the young, yet good-looking kunoichi. "What the hell is going on here?" He demanded in a growl, his one normal eye glaring at the blonde boy and then at the Uchiha prodigy. His Sharingan eye, now revealed, was glaring at the Kyuubi.

"The situation is under control Kakashi-san." The ANBU with the bear mask said. "This is part of Uzumaki-san's lessons. You may leave now." His voice was cold and firm. The Kyuubi had always been a touchy feeling for the one-eyed ninja. Just like hundreds of villagers and fellow shinobi, he blamed the death of his sensei, the Yondaime Hokage, on the Kyuubi.

"Don't you realize that it is a threat to Konoha?" Kakashi demanded. "It's escaped from its seal!"

By now the blonde boy had disappeared from Itachi's side and gone to where the Kyuubi had been seconds ago, wreathed in red chakra. In his conversation, or rather yelling spree, with the ANBU Kakashi had turned both of his eyes to the masked Leaf nin. Now, all that Kakashi saw when he turned to look at the Kyuubi was the blonde picking up a small fox. With seemingly practiced movements, he lifted it to his shoulders where it egarly looped itself around his neck, tail tickling the blonde's throat.

"What the hell?" Kakashi said as he saw the blonde boy scratch behind the fox, no—the Kyuubi's ear.

Itachi sighed and spoke up. "Kakashi-senpai, there is nothing wrong here. Yes, the Kyuubi has been partially released from its seal, but only to the extent Naruto-kun wishes." Itachi put a hand on the blonde boy's shoulders. "That was an example of one of Kyuubi-san's techniques so that Naruto could see what he could become capable of doing." A shiver ran through Kakashi's spine as he imagined what a shinobi would become if able to replicate such an awesome display of sheer distructive power.

"Are you mad at Kyu-chan?" Naruto asked, looking up at the new shinobi with wide eyes. He had never seen an Uchiha with only one Sharingan eye activated. Then again he hadn't seen many Uchiha around Konoha. The only ones he had spent any significant time with were Itachi and his little brother Sasuke, and only Itachi had activated his eyes in front of Naruto.

"KYUU-CHAN?" Kakashi exploded. "You call that monster Kyu-chan?" If Kakashi hadn't had a mask on, he would probably have been spitting on the blonde. "It killed my sensei who stopped it and saved Konoha!"

"Stop it Kakashi, you're scaring Naruto." Itachi said sternly as he gripped the older Sharingan wielder's upper right arm, partially restraining him.

"I know that Kyu-chan killed a lot of people, but it was a mistake." Naruto said confidently. "She got tricked by the Snake bastard who killed all…all her kids…and family…" Tears weald up in Naruto's eyes as he explained the Kyuubi's story. Finally he murmered, "She really wishes that she hadn't attacked Konoha."

There was silence for a minute as Kakashi looked at Itachi who nodded to confirm the boy's story. Quite frankly the masked ninja didn't know what to think. While he had always hated the demon, he hadn't hated the blonde boy, Uzumaki Naruto. He was enough in the know to understand that Naruto had nohing to be blamed for as far as the sealing was conserned, but letting the fox out…well he wasn't so sure about that.

"**I understand that you hate me, but I cannot go back and change the past."** The fox spoke from Naruto's neck. It unnerved Kakashi, but he tried to shrug it off. It was like speaking with an animal summon…it was just like speaking with an animal summan… it was just like speaking with an animal summan…**"If I could warp time I would gladly do it so that I could be with my…family…but I can't, and neither can you."**

"Why are you giving Naruto your power?" Kakashi asked for the first time addressing the Kyuubi.

"**Revenge."** The Kyuubi said with a snarl.

"Revenge? On whom?" Kakashi asked nervous. He was the student of the man who sealed her inside the blonde. Was she mad at him?

"**That Snake bastard of a Sannin, Orochimaru!"** The peeved vixen replied. **"He will pay with his life for what he did to me and my family!"**

"Okay, okay, don't get mad at us." Kakashi said weakly as he lowered his forehead protector over his Sharingan eye. "Sheesh, is it your time of the month or something?"

Silence.

Itachi backed away from Kakashi as the demon fox's head rose to stare at him. At first her eyes were covered in shadows cast by her ears, but then her red eyes flashed dangerously and then glowed ominously. A low growl erupted from the Kyuubi as she began to leak killer intent. It was spread over the clearing fairly evenly at a level so that people would know she was mad, but around the area Kakasi was standing in…well, he was about to lose control of his intestines at any moment if the vixen didn't relent her assault. With a battle snarl/growl the Kyuubi launched herself headfirst at the masked shinobi. She disappeared in a blur of red and knocked Kakashi over like a bowling ball does a bowling pin.

Due to the laws of physics, which ninja seem to defy, but apply in this senario, Naruto was pushed backward by the Kyuubi's use of him as a springboard. Landing in a heap, he was quickly helped up by Yugito as she watched the Kyuubi beat the living shit out of Kakashi. The infamous Copy nin of Konoha was being knocked around inside a web of red blurs.

"You can't just kill him for that comment Kyu-chan!" Naruto cried out as he saw wounds seemingly open of their own accord on the masked ninja's body. Said ninja slumped to the ground pathetically as the red blur stopped revolving around him and stopped next to Naruto's side. There was blood dripping from the Kyuubi's jaw and claws as she stood panting by her precious blonde's side.

"**That should be punishment enough for the pervert."** She stated before disappearing in a cloud of smoke so that she could retreat back into Naruto's mind.

"Well, I think he needs to get the hospital or something, so why don't we call it a day, okay?" Yugito asked Naruto who simply nodded. "Alright then…thank you for filling in today Itachi-san. I appologise for taking up your time."

"There is nothing to apologise for." Itachi replied. "I didn't have more enjoyable things to do, but I should better be off before my little brother starts to worry."

"Would you walk me home Itachi-sensei?" Naruto asked, remembering what happened the day before. The stones still seemed the fly at him even though he was under the protection of the Hyuuga clan.

"I would, but why don't you try out the jutsu my clone taught yours today during lunch?" Itachi asked. "I think it would be a good time to test it here in the training ground and then try it to get home."

Naruto's eyes lit up like a pair of million watt lightbulbs. "Yeah!!!" Yugito smiled slightly at the sight of a happy Naruto before silently taking her leave, accompanied by the four-man ANBU squad. Before getting started with Naruto, Itachi made a shadow clone and instructed him to take the now heavily injured and unconscious Hatake Kakashi to the hospital for immediate medical attention.

With that out of the way, Itachi strode forward in front of Naruto and made an X in the ground with his heel. "That is your goal." He waited for a second to see comprehension flash across Naruto's eyes before disappearing in a cloud of swirling leaves.

Naruto nodded and formed his favorite handseal. "Kage Bushin no Jutsu!" Then a chorus of Narutos shouted: "Shunshin no Jutsu!"

XXX

Three hours later the sun was beginning to dip below the horizon and Uzumaki Naruto had yet to return home from his day of training. The guards standing outside the main gate of the Hyuuga clan were looking for the clan's precious blonde and fox duo. After the incident the night before they were worried that his late arrival was due to another mob.

Suddenly they felt a minute consentration of chakra in front of them. Quickly and wordlessly activating their bloodline limit the Byakugan they waited for whomever was coming to reveal him or herself. With the veins around their eyes bulging, they watched as Naruto and the Kyuubi appeared before them in a swirl of leaves mixed with whiplike red and black flames.

"Howdy howdy!!" the blonde boy greated them warmly.

Silence.

"You guys alright?" Naruto asked. "You're awfully quiet today…"

Silence.

Multiple tickmarks appeared on one side of Naruto's forehead. "HEY!!! I'M TALKING TO YOU!!!" That did the trick. Each one the the guards stood up straighter and shook out their heads, Byakugan and bulging veins receding with time.

"Sorry Naruto…" One guard appologised for their silence before another picked up where he left off.

"…We weren't really expecting you to come in like that." A second added.

"…But we're glad you're back." The third continued the three guards' statement as if they were of one mind. "We were beginning to get a little worried that our favorite blonde was in trouble."

Naruto scratched the back of his head out of habit. "Sorry guys, I was training with Itachi-sensei and he showed me the Shunshin no Jutsu and I wanted to try it out coming back here."

"Oh well, at least you're making great progress." The first guard said and stepped to one side to let Naruto walk through the gate, which he did. Naruto walked through the Hyuuga clan estate taking in the late afternoon/early evening air and colors. He loved it here. It was peaceful and calming the way the landscaping and architecture blended together and formed a masterpiece. There was also the nice fact that he was accepted here. There were no evil glares or beatings or threats…except when he was caught doing something he shouldn't have been.

While Naruto remeniced, the Kyuubi was frolicking in the bushes and tall flowers that surrounded the buildings. She simply loved to disappear into the plant life and pretend to stalk prey. It was good practice for her stealth skills and occasionally she was rewarded and found a plump little bird…that quickly became a plump little snack. Naruto enjoyed watching her flash in and out of view as he walked along the crushed gravel path that wandered by every building in the entire estate, making it an easy way to get from place to place.

Naruto continued to strole through the compound until he came to the head family's mansion. There was no other word to describe the building. It was simply magnificent and large. Naruto sighed contently. He loved his life now.

XXX

Sasuke and Itachi were walking back home from training. Itachi had left Sasuke alone for most of the afternoon while he was with Naruto watching the young blonde boy train with the Nibi's jinchuuriki, Nii Yugito.

"Nii-san, who was that goy who helped me today?" Sasuke asked. "He was only my age, but he's really good."

"He's Uzumaki Naruto." Itachi replied simply before frowning slightly. "I thought you knew his name."

"I know his name, but I don't know who or what he is, who his family is, that sort of stuff." Sasuke replied.

"Those are things that you should talk directly to him about." Itachi stated.

"Do you know something about him nii-san?" Sasuke asked as he walked next to his older brother as they traveled through the village of Konoha.

"A little." Itachi admitted truthfully. He hadn't known the blonde long enough to begin to understand the hyperactive blonde.

"Tell me! Tell me! Tell me!" Sasuke cried exuberantly, looking at his older brother with wide innocent eyes. Not many human beings could resist a child's patented 'puppy-eye no jutsu,' but unfortunately for Sasuke, his older brother happened to be one rare exception.

Itachi sighed massaging the bridge of his nose…and thought for a minute. "I will tell you only one thing about Uzumaki Naruto."

"What is it?" Sasuke asked egarly, wanting to learn more about the blonde boy who helped him with the tree-climbing exercise.

"He's an orphan." Itachi replied. "His parents died a long time ago. He probably doesn't remember them but I could be wrong about that."

To say that Sasuke was shocked was like saying that a kitten is a baby cat. His brother Itachi had just said that he could be wrong. "If that's so, why does he seem so happy?" Sasuke asked.

"I don't know." Itachi would have said more but he stopped when he say their father walking towards them.

Sasuke, not noticing his brother's reaction ran towards his father. "Tou-san! Nii-san took me to train today!"

"That's nice." Uchiha Fugaku replied. "What did you learn?"

"I learned the tree-climbing exercise." Sasuke answered his father proudly.

"Show me." Fugaku demanded, pointing to a nearby tree. Sasuke obeyed his father and walked over to the highlighted tree. Slowly the young Uchiha walked up the tree. Halfway up he lost his grip on the bark and plumited to the ground. Clumsily, Sasuke was able to rotate in mid air so that he landed on his feet instead of his head.

"I thought that you said that you learned the tree-climbing excersize." Fugaku stated with a scowl on his face. "So why did you fall?"

"I haven't mastered it yet, but Naruto says that I'll have it down after only another day or so." Sasuke answered hopeing to appease his father, but Fugaku's scowl ddn't go away. Instead it only got worse.

"Uzumaki Naruto?" The head of the Uchiha clan asked.

"Hai!" Sasuke chirped. "He's–"

"You will not associate with him any more." Fugaku ordered coldly.

"Why?" Sasuke asked with ypical curiocity found in a seven-year-old child. Tell them to do something and all they ask is 'why?'.

"He's extremely dangerous." Fugaku retorted."You might say he's a demon in disguise with his…condition."

Itachi moved to stand next to his brother, hand resting on the hilt of his ANBU sword that he wore wherever he went. His Sharingan suddenly revealed and spinning dangerously. He knew his father might put his toe over the line and say something he really shouldn't. An S-ranked secret that only Jounin were told was forbidden from being told to younger children born around and after the time of the Kyuubi's attack.

"Do you remember the huge chakra spike this afternoon." Fugaku asked. Sasuek nodded dumbly. He had felt the humungous surge that only the Hokage should have been capable of producing. It had scared him slightly. "That was Uzumaki Naruto."

Sasuke gaped at his father's words. Jounin and ANBU had visably flinched and looked worried when the first pulse of chakra reached them.

"It wasn't Naruto." Itachi stated coldly, looking directly at his father.

"Of course it was him. "The head of the Uchiha clan replied. " Don't you remember _that_ night?"

"I would be stupid not to." Itachi answered.

"Then you know it was it." Fugaku replied. "Stop bein—"

"I was there on the Hokage's orders." Itachi firmly replied. "It was not Uzumaki Naruto, but one of his friends." Without another word, Itachi turned around and pulled Sasuke with him. He couldn't stand that man who claimed to be their father.

When they were out of earshot of their father, Itachi stopped and knelt down next to Sasuke. "Little brother, don't be bothered by what Father says." He paused to look Sasuke directly in the eye. "Although our eyes can do amazing things, they have blinded most of the clan."

"Why?...How?" Sasuke asked, in a little, subdued voice. Hedesperatly wanted to be recognized by his father and Fugaku's rejection and disappointment in his progress hurt him deeply.

"Our eyes allow us to copy any ninja techniques." Itachi stated. "It's probably the strongest bloodline limit in existence. That is why the Uchiha have been blinded." Sasuke blinked once, clearly not comprehending what his brother had just said. "Our eyes offer us a shortcut to power that most of our clan takes advantage of."

"I don't understand." Sasuke interrupted his borther. "How is taking a shortcut a bad thing?"

"Because power you gain that you gain isn't your own and that makes you weak" Itachi answered. "True power comes from within your-self." He ruffled his younger brother's hair affectionately before turning around without getting up. "Piggy-back ride?" Sasuke wiped a tad of moisture from his eyes. It was only some dust…yeah, that's it…"

"Sure Nii-san."

XXX—Time Skip: Two Months—XXX

Two months of hard training was paying off for both Sasuke and Naruto despite Fugaku's orders to stay away from Naruto. Sasuke had gotten close to the blonde whirlwind of energy. They were best of friends and rivals at the same time, constantly trying to best the other yet at the same time helping eachother get better by pointing out mistakes. It might seem oxymoronic, yet they were always trying to help and at the sametime beat the other at some new skill.

The two months of training under Uchiha Itachi tured out differently than both the Hokage and Itachi had expected. Instead of only learning ninjutsu at a Genin level, Naruto's shadows clones had made it possible for the blonde to learn C and B-rank ninjutsu. Naruto could literally go through a years worth of training in a few short days. Another major difference from Naruto's original training schedule was learning taijutsuand the basics of ninja weaponry. It wasn't intentional but Itachi found that it was nearly impossible to get Sasuke and Naruto to spar evenly with ninjutsu. Naruto's inhuman chakra levels and stamina made any ninjutsu clash heavily one sided. Sasuke's only chance at winning was to strike Naruto with a handful of fast powerful jutsus before the spar turned into a battle of attrition and slaughter.

At any rate, Naruto learned the basic katas of the Uchiha clan taijutsu—something very rare for a non-Uchiha to be allowed to learn. At the moment he was the same level and proficiency as Sasuke. One could say they were twin blades when it came to taijutsu, however Naruto could sometimes be a loose cannon. He tended to mix things up almost never sticking to the katas and combos. Instead e picked and chose moves and wove them together into a dangerous and defiantly unpredictable dance.

Suddenly Itachi appeared in a poof of smoke and swirl of leaves.

"You're late Nii-san" Sasuke said pointing at the little alarm clock that he had installed on a tree a few weeks into training.

"I had a meeting with Hokage-sama about your progress." Itachi replied calmly.

"What'd Jiji have to say about how awesome we've become?" Naruto asked eager for good news.

"The Hokage thinks that since you are high genin level, that you can begin to take a few missions a week until you enter the academy." Itachi stated in an even voice.

"SWEET!!!" Naruto and Sasuke shouted, jumping up in the air.

"However," Itachi continued raising a finger to quiet the boys. "You must find a third person to be on your team.

That was a stumbling block for Naruto and Sasuke. Who could be on their team? No Gennin would accept being on a team of pre-academy students. No academy student would even think about being on a team with seven, almost eight-year-old kids. The only option remaining would be to find someone too young to enter the academy but at the same time, almost as strong as they were.

""It might help you think if you get started with your excersizes." Itachi prompted the two boys into their pre-training regieme.

It began with twenty laps around the clearing followed by a hundred sit-ups, fifty push-ups, and then a long and thurogh stretch to loosen all the muscles up. With Naruto's intense stamina, he didn't find the warm-ups as tiring as Sasuke did, although the two of them had broken a sweat by the end of the warm-ups.

"Any luck thinking of someone to join us?" Sasuke asked his blonde companion.

"I'm not sure yet, but I think Hinata might be good enough." Naruto replied.

"Howso?" Sasuke asked. "That girl probably hasn't been training like we have, so how good is she?"

"Hinata's been training with her father and cousin like crazy while Itachi-sensei has been teaching us." Naruto replied. "Two months may not be a long time, but I think she's the only one who would be good enough and willing to be our teammate."

""Alright, but I'd like to spar with her a few times before we decide." Sasuke stated. "I want to see how good she is with my own two eyes."

"More like four eyes right?" Naruto replied out of the blue with a grin plastered on his face."

"…What?..."

"You know, the Sharingan being like a second set of eyes, that makes four eyes." Naruto tried to explain the little joke he just attempted to pull off, only to realize that it had failed, and failed miserably. "…Nevermind."

Itachi took that moment to walk over and start the morning's training session. "Alright, enough chit-chat, we've got some training to do!"

XXX

Naruto fell onto his back; utterly wiped from the speed training that Itachi had put Sasuke and him-self through. Even the Kyuubi came out to go…'jogging'…with 'the boys.' Of course a jog for her was more than an all out sprint for Sasuke and Naruto. In the end though, they knew that the pain now would pay off big time in the future. Sasuke groaned and rolled over to find a more comfortable position in the grass. He didn't have the same stamina as Naruto, and when Naruto was exhausted, Sasuke was on the brink of fatigue.

"Is everyone rested up for the ninjutsu training now?" Itachi asked with a little grin on his face.

"NANI???" Sasuke couldn't believe the words coming from his brother's mouth. He wanted them to do a chakra exhausting ninjutsu workout when they were physically whipped from the speed training. Chakra was derived from physical and mental energies mixing in the human body. They needed to be mixed evenly, so in the state Naruto and Sasuke were in at the moment, the lack of phycical energies would severly hampen their ability to perform ninjutsu or any other technique that required chakra.

"Sasuke…" Naruto said with a moan as he sat up. "He, more-so than us, know that we cannot do a heavy ninjusu workout in our present state."

"Naruto's correct, Sasuke." Itachi stated. "I was merely attempting to add some humor into the current environment to lighten it up a little."

"Kami, Nii-san, you almost gave me a heart-attack." Sasuke mumbled into the grass.

"Heh heh." Itachi half-heartedly laughed at his little brother's expense. Despite the two seven-year-olds' condition, he was very impressed with their performance on the training field. They had completed a Chunin-level obstical course, which worked on speed and agility. Completing the course in itself was an accomplishment for regular Chunin who didn't always make it through; let alone seven-year-old children who had never set foot in the achademy.

"So what's going to happen this afternoon Nii-san." Sasuke asked, regaining some of his breath.

"Naruto is going to train with Yugito and I will let you off the hook for this afternoon's training session due to your great performance this morning." Itachi replied.

"Thank Kami…" Sasuke muttered before collapsing onto the ground once again and stared at the clouds in the sky. _So nice…_

"Oh, I just remembered." Itachi said out of the blue. "Did you two think of someone to ask to join you for your missons?"

"Hai!" Naruto spoke up for the two of them seeing as Sasuke had just fallen asleep. "Hinata-chan is our age but has been training in the Gentle Fist style for a while now, and she might be good enough to keep up with us."

"I see." Itachi murmered. "Is it safe to assume that you will talk to Hiashi-sama before you talk to her?"

"Yeah…I don't think it would be a good idea to ask her without Hiashi-san's permission." Naruto replied. "But I'm not sure that he'd let Hinata…"

"Do you want her to join your team?" Itachi asked Naruto as the blonde trailed off.

"Hai."

"Then your only choice is to ask for her father's permission to join." Itachi stated simply. "You cannot appear hesitant or unsure of yourself when you talk with him. In the past he has been known to be stiff and unresolving, but in the past months since you've been living with the Hyuuga's, I have heard rumors that he has opened up and relaxed some."

"So that's a good thing, right?" Naruto asked.

"Yes." Itachi replied as he bent over Sasuke. "And I think that you may be the cause of this good change in Hiashi-sama." Itachi picked Sasuke up bridal style with a little grunt and moan from Sasuke before continuing. "I'll meet you at the ramen stand after I take Sasuke home."

"Okay!" Naruto chirped as he flashed through several handseals at the same time Itachi formed the exact same seals and both Shunshined to separate destinations.

XXX

Naruto was a little troubled by the fact that Itachi never showed up to lunch at the ramen stand forcing the blonde to pay for twelve bowls of ramen out of his own pocket. A little frog money purse that he carried with him hung limply in his pocket as he re-entered the training ground. _Poor Gama-chan…so empty…_

"**You might not want to be moaning about your money supply at the moment Naruto-kun." **The Kyuubi said from his side. **"There's something wrong happening and I just get this weird feeling that we are somehow related to it."**

"But we haven't done anything to anyone." Naruto replied. "You're just worrying too much."

"**The villagers don't need you to do something to hate you." **The Kyuubi retorted, getting her point across to the blonde.

"Fine, fine…" Naruto sighed as he sat down underneath a tree. "Let's just wait for Yugito-sensei here."

"**Fine…"** Grumbled the Kyuubi as she curled up on her blonde's chest and tucked her nose underneath her bushy tail. Laying in the training field brought back memories for the blonde in his journey to becoming a powerful jinchuuriki.

XXX—Flashback—XXX

"The only real advantage that a Jinchuuriki has over a normal ninja is the demon sealed inside them." Yugito explained to Naruto. "The benefits that a demon gives their host varies from demon to demon, but the one over-arching and universal similarity between all jinchuuriki is the ability to manipulate and mold their demon's chakra. That is the main reason that jinchuuriki are so powerful."

"So why doesn't everyone go out and get a demon and seal it into babies so that they turn into powerful ninja?" Naruto asked. "Although it is kinda mean to the baby, the military benefits of the process are immence."

"Demons are hard to find." Yugito replied. "But back to my original topic which is demonic chakra." She cleared her throat and prepared herself for the lecture she was about to give.

"Demonic chakra is in its essence a poison to the human body." Naruto gulped at her words. "It is a carosive power that most humans cannot withstand the effects of. However, Jinchuuriki who have had minute amounts of demonic chakra floating throught their bodies since they were a day old, develop a partial immunity. What we need to do is set you onto a training regimen that allows your body to withstand and accept the Kyuubi's chakra. Then you need to learn how to manipulate and mold it like normal chakra."

"Okay." Naruto said egarly but kept in mind the pain he had felt on day one when the Kyuubi had flooded his body with her red chakra.

"Then let's get started." Yugito replied with smile.

XXX—End Flashback—XXX

They waited like that for half an hour for Yugito to show up. When she did, she looked troubled. So did the ANBU team.

"Everything alright Yugito-sensei?" Naruto asked, a little worried.

"Uzumaki Naruto, you lessons for this afternoon have been canceled." The Bear masked ANBU stated in an authoritarian tone of voice. One that you didn't dare disobey…unless you happened to be a seven-year-old blonde jinchuuriki.

"Why?" Naruto demanded, sitting up so fast that the Kyuubi was thrown from her comfortable seat…also known as Naruto's lap/chest. "What's happened?"

"The Uchiha clan has been slaughtered."

XXX

**Bum Bum Bum Bum!!!! I guess Uchiha Uchiha, Uh-oh was a good title for this chapter.**

**Sorry that it's late and short, but teaching sailing has been rough to say the least.**

**Please send me your reviews and votes!!! I appreciate feedback so I can improve this story!!!**

**~Cyberviper42~**


	10. Chapter 10: The Uchiha Slaughter Part 1

**Alright!!!! I know that last chapter was a little short, but I am sure you have all been looking forward to this chapter. I think it was a little mean to leave you with that cliffhanger, but I couldn't think of a way to cever such an important topic while trying to wrap up a chapter. I think that the Uchiha Incident in this story is important enough to dedicate an entire chapter to…And quite frankly I think that you do as well.**

**I apologize for the long wait this summer, but now that school is starting and such, I will have a much more organized schedule where I can write more frequently. Teaching winy snot-nosed seven-year-olds how to sail wears me out and leaves me with practically no energy to type**

**I have decided to keep Naruto and Yugito in a brother/sister relationship or a student/teacher relationship. They will not be paired together. Please continue to vote for pairs keeping this in mind.**

**AND NOW FOR THE VOTING STANDINGS YUGITO/NARUTO PAIRING HAVE BEEN REMOVED SEE ABOVE.**

**The votes as of wednesday, September 9, 2009 are as follows:**

**Votes for Pairs:**

**Naruto/femKyuubi-----18 Naruto/Hinata-----19 Shikamaru/Temari-----1**

**Neji/Tenten-----1 Iruka/Shizune-----1 Kakashi/Anko-----1**

**Choji/Ino-----1 Naruto/Anko-----3 Itachi/Anko-----4**

**Naruto/Kurenai-----2**

**Votes for Harem:**

**Naruto/FemHaku/Hinata-----4 ****Itachi/Anko/Yugito-----1**

**Naruto/Hinata/FemKyuubi/Temari-----1 Naruto/FemKyuubi/Kurenai/FemHaku-----1**

**Naruto/FemKyuubi/Kurenai-----25 Naruto/FemKyuubi/Hinata-----4**

**Naruto/Hinata/FemKyuubi/Temari-----3 Naruto/FemKyuubi/Hinata/FemHaku-----4**

**READ AND REVIEW!!!**

Chapter 10: The Uchiha Slaughter Part 1

XXX—Last Time on Together or Alone—XXX

_They waited like that for half an hour for Yugito to show up. When she did, she looked troubled. So did the ANBU team._

"_Everything alright Yugito-sensei?" Naruto asked, a little worried._

"_Uzumaki Naruto, you lessons for this afternoon have been canceled." The Bear masked ANBU stated in an authoritarian tone of voice. One that you didn't dare disobey…unless you happened to be a seven-year-old blonde jinchuuriki._

"_Why?" Naruto demanded, sitting up so fast that the Kyuubi was thrown from her comfortable seat…also known as Naruto's lap/chest. "What's happened?"_

"_The Uchiha clan has been slaughtered."_

XXX

Uchiha Fugaku stared out a window of his baracaded house. Oh how far his proud clan had fallen due to the foul and weak hands of the Hokage. He knew he was committing treason, but he would be damned if one Uchiha remained that knew of his sceeming. No one would be left alive now that the Hokage found out about his hidden plans and he would be the one to kill them. If all had gone to his plan, then there would be no way the information would have leaked to the village's it possible that he had overlooked someone with stronger loyalties to the village instead of their own clan?

XXX—Flashback no jutsu—XXX

"You called Uchiha-sama?" A soft voice whispered from a dark shadow. It was night and Uchiha Fugaku was walking through the Uchiha gardens under a full moon. His spy was here at last. He had been waiting for several minutes and Uchiha Fugaku was _not_ the type of man who liked to be left waiting by a subordinate.

"You're late." He accused coldly.

"A thousand apologies, sir." The voice replied. "However, I bare grave news."

"Speak." The Uchiha clan head ordered.

"It seems that the Hokage is partially or fully aware of your plans, Uchiha-sama." The mysterious voice stated. "I don't know how it happened, but whomever informed the Hokage did it very well."

"Dammit!" Fugaku nearly shouted across the entire gardens. "How could you not find out who betrayed their own clan? You claimed that you were the best infiltration and tracker specialist in the Elemental Nations, and you cannot find the measly rat?"

"A Thousand apologies Uchiha-sama." The man's voice replied. "But I couldn't determime who had the opertunity, motive, and will to do such a thing. There are a lot of Uchiha who know of or are involved with this coup so the possibilities are nearly endless."

"Fool." Fugaku's hardened voice sent shivers through the hidden man's spine. It was the tone of voice that one only heard when they were about to be mercilessly killed by an enemy. "You do not deserve to live after making such a mistake."

"Please, Uchiha-sama, please have mercy and give me a chance to redeme myself and—AGHHHHH!!" The man never had a chance to complete his sentence. Uchiha were world renown for their Katon jutsus, but they were equally adept with Raiton jutsus, which Uchiha Fugaku utilized in this situation. One advantage of a Raition jutsu at night is that it didn't light up the sky like a Katon jutsu. It also didn't leave burn marks all over the ground, and lastly it was very painful…exactly the death that Uchiha Fugaku wanted to give his failure of a spy. No one got away with betraying him and the Uchiha clan.

XXX

The elder Uchiha watched his sons walk away from him. Sasuke truly had made increadible progress, but if he was forced into believing that he was failing miserabley, then he would improve even more. But Itachi was trying to mold his younger brother in a different way. Normally he wouldn't have any problem with that due to Itachi's insane abilities and achievements, but how his eldest son was molding weakness into his brother.

He saw it just then. Nothing could hide it from his all seeing eyes. Not even his sons' weaknesses. Who'd have thought that the pride of the Uchiha clan would turn out to have such a flaw? It was unthinkable. An unfortunate turn of events that couldn't be reversed…only circumnavigated.

XXX

A day of planning and secret brooding had produced few solutions to his problem of Itachi's weakness and seeding it into Sasuke. (Don't get any perverted ideas…just word choice here.) For once he wished that he had refrained from killin—…eliminating his spy after failing. He had been useful…and did his job fairly well.

Sitting in his office with the door locked, Uchiha Fugaku mused, brooded, and thought…whatever word you wish to use. "Dammit!" He exclaimed under his breath. "What am I going to do…"

"_You could always just use me again…Uchiha-sama…"_ A whisper floated across the head of the Uchiha clan's ears.

"Who's there?" He demanded coldly, trying to cover his surprise, only partially succeeding. "Where are you?"

"_I am the tool you discarded when I failed…"_ The voice whispered again. _"Why not pick me up once again and weild me?"_

"No." Uchiha Fugaku replied.

"_What?"_

"There is no way you could have survived that jutsu." The Sharingan wielder stated; activating his eyes.

"_Ku Ku Ku Ku."_ The shadowy voice replied. "Your ninjutsu was indeed impressive…but it failed to kill me. Oh my poor earth-clone…"

"Who…Who are you?" Uchiha Fugaku asked, spinning around, scanning the room with his fully matured sharingan.

"My name is Orochimaru…" Seemingly faster than Fugaku's Sharingan could track, a long thin snake shot out of a shadowed filled alcove in the room. It bit the Uchiha clan head in his left shoulder, injecting its potent venom into its victim.

Almost immediately Fugaku felt the venom spreading through his left arm. It numbed and paralyzed the most important part of his body…his hands. Without a hand, or in some cases, even a finger, a shinobi could be forced into a taijutsu battle. Without hands or fingers, a handseal could be mis-formed and incorrectly mold the ninja's chakra, thus disrupting and possible back-firing the ninjutsu or genjutsu.

"Why bother reveal your-self to me now Orochimaru?" The Uchiha asked the former snake Sannin. "Even you should realize that you cannot defeat an Uchiha like my-self. You will not leave here alive."

"Ku Ku Ku Ku…" Orochimaru stepped out from the shadowed corner of the room. His lips parted just enough for his unnaturally long tounge to emerge and taste the air exactly like the snakes that he had grown so close to. "Do you really think I would kill you and your precious eyes?"

Fugaku settled into a taijutsu stance with a smirk growing on his face. "You may have paralyzed my arm, but I still have copied over 100 taijutsu styles. You do not stand a chance against a shinobi like me."

"You have no idea the difference between your puny skills and my kinjutsus." (Forbidden Techniques) Orochimaru chuckled as Fugaku went limp and fell to the floor, unable to move. "You will be the perfect aid to get me your wonderful Sharingan eyes. If I am to possess the most powerful eyes, I must get the wielder, and you will help me accomplish my goals…"

Another snake flew out of the snake Sannin's sleaves and imbedded its jaws into the unfortunate Uchiha's chest, right over his heart. "Be honored that you may assist me in becoming a god among shinobi, one who knows every technique." Orochimaru whispered into Uchiha Fugaku's left ear, milliseconds before the Konoha shinobi fell at the feet of the ex-Konoha shinobi. Fugaku gasped as his legs and other arm became as numb as his first limb. This second snake's venom spread through his veins even faster and to an even greater extent of the first bite. Fugaku's lungs began to seize up on him, his diafram refusing to exicute the signals sent from his brain. His vision flashed red then purple, and then He knew no more.

The rogue Sannin stepped over Uchiha Fugaku's fallen body before flipping through a long string of handseals. "Shadow Snake Possession no jutsu." A multitude of long thin snakes, no shorter than half a meter and no wider than a centimeter, swarmed out of Orochimaru's sleaves and burrowed into Uchiha Fugaku's body. After a minute the snakes were in place through out the Uchiha clan head's body and there were no longer any bumps or wriggling patches of muscle to give away their presence.

A full minute passed before the Uchiha Clan head stood up slowly and faced Orochimaru. His movements were slow, deliberate, and all without a hint of emotion. Fugaku's face was almost serene as he stood facing Orochimaru; it was if the clan head had placed a mask over his face and hid all emotions.

"You have done an excellent job as always." Orochimaru commented out of the blue, still looking at the Uchiha's onix eyes.

"It isss a plesssure to ssserve you massster." A serpentine voice spoke from the Uchiha's mouth and a silver snake slithered inbetween Fugaku's teeth and became visable. "What isss your bidding massster?"

"For now nothing, but await my orders. Become familier with the compound and the village." The snake sannin returned to the shadowed corner from which he had emerged. "Do not give yourself away." With that final command Orochimaru stepped into the shadows and disappeared from sight.

"Yesss Master." The snake replied returning to Fugaku's mouth and disappearing from view. The latter word spoken was with the voice of a proud Uchiha.

XXX

Instructions came the next evening when most of the Uchiha clan was turning in for the night.

"Poison the wells, the springs, the food, everything you can manage to poison, do so. I want no survivors except for Itachi and his beautiful eyes." Orochimaru's mud clone disintegrated after relaying the message to his snake-possessed Uchiha Fugaku, head of the Uchiha clan.

Tucked away in his safe hiding spot, Orochimaru grinned as the clone's memories returned to him. Fugaku was most certainly the best 'man' for the job of getting him Itachi-kun…and his wonderful eyes. With Itachi framed, he would have no choice but to leave the safty of the village and become easy prey for a certain snake Sannin. Orochimaru licked his lips with his unnaturally long tounge in eager anticipation for his plans to come to fruition. He couldn't wait much longer. This damn body wasn't going to last a month at it's current rate of decay.

Granted there was a chance that Itachi would somehow be kept out of his grasp, but it was unlikely. Soon he would have a brand new, powerful body that he could use to master every nin-jutsu in the world. Then he would become a god among mortals.

XXX

Itachi and Sasuke walked home after a long morning of training with Naruto. The sun was beginning to make its decent to the horizon as the day drifted onward towards evening at a pace that a Nara would feel comfortable. The late summer air brought the temperature to a comfortable 75 degrees, but the cloud-less sky guaranteed a hotter afternoon.

The brothers continued home, one in their sweaty, dirty and smelly clothes (Sasuke), the other barely having broken a sweat despite the morning workout (Itachi). Despite Sasuke's ragged appearance, people, ninja and civilians alike watched the duo pass with respect. Here was the heir of the Uchiha clan and his younger brother. They were treated like royalty. Their Sharingan eyes had made the Uchiha clan famous, and it didn't hurt any that Itachi was already an ANBU commander at the tender age of thirteen. Most his age hadn't even done more than a handful of low level C-ranked missions, let alone an S or A-ranked mission that Itachi went on every week…but back to reality.

As the brothers made a left hand turn into the Uchiha district, Itachi's danger warnings were blaring throught his head. The streets were abandoned.

"Sasuke, stay close to me." Itachi told—no—ordered his younger brother. No longer was he the nice trainer, right now he was an ANBU shinobi on high alert.

Sasuke immediately picked up on the change in his brother's posture, breathing, gaze, and most obiously the iron-strong grip on his forearm. "Hai, Nii-san."

A moment later a clansman stumbled out of an ally way, cluching his heart with one hand, the other gripped Itachi's shirt. "D-D-Damn you I-Itachi…" He weased. "Why a-all the children t-too?"

"What happened?" Itachi demanded of the man. "What's going on here?"

The man apparently didn't hear his voice as he kept on muttering. "You just had to…just had to kill us all…didn't you?" The man opened his mouth to say more, but his throat visibly constricted and he suffocated to death, mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water.

Itachi checked for a pulse on his fellow Uchiha, but found none. Slowly he withdrew his two fingers from the man's neck and closed his eyes with them. "Is…is he dead?" Sasuke asked in a small voice.

"Hai…and he was poisoned not too long ago." Itachi replied frowning. "Who ever did this probably managed to infiltrate our warehouses and is defiantly skilled."

"What should I do nii-san?" Sasuke asked his brother.

"Go with a shadow clone and get shinobi help. I will try to get to the bottom of this." Itachi replied as he formed the necessary handseal for a kage bunshin. With a cloud of white smoke, the clone appeared next to Sasuke and began to shuttle the younger boy away from the Uchiha district to find help.

Itachi's clone ran behind Sasuke acting like a rear-guard to ward off any potential danger behind and was also able to attack over Sasuke's head. "The way the man spoke, it sounded like I was the one who killed all of our clan, but there's no way I even have the power to do it, let alone the opertunity. I was with you and Naruto the entire morning."

"Hai…" Sasuke replied but didn't say anything else as he ran. He sprinted out of the eerily quiet area of Konoha known as the Uchiha district and bust onto a busy street. He would have been run over if Itachi's clone didn't push his brother out of harms way before being struck by a cart and disappearing in a puff of smoke.

"Hey kid!" The cart driver shouted, turning back to look at Sasuke. "Watch where you are going!" Without another look over his shoulder he started the cart again and rolled forward towards the gate.

"SOMEONE HELP! THE UCHIHA HAVE BEEN ATTACKED!!!" He screamed at the top of his lungs before collapsing in the middle of the street, barely seeing a team of ANBU blur towards the Uchiha district before passing out.

XXX

The original Itachi watched his clone and younger brother run off for a moment before turning and dashing the other way. "Be careful Sasuke-kun."

Block after block, Itachi ran towards the heart of the Uchiha Clan, the Head family's mannor. The closer he got the more bodies he began to find. He paused at each one to check for pulses, but he found none. The one thing that he noticed was that the civilan Uchiha were dead with little or no signs of struggle, typically found with poisoning. On the other hand, most of the active or retired ninja or Uchiha with ninja training, had died violent deaths. Most were from sword wounds, but enough had kunai and shuriken to make Itachi believe more than one assailent had participated in the murders.

Itachi worked his way through the Uchiha clan district and entered his house. It was dead quiet. Either no one was there or they were all dead. Itachi was in his room in no time and changing into his ANBU uniform when he heard a vase shatter downstairs and a person scream. Forgetting to grab his ANBU mask, Itachi drew his standard issure ANBU sword and crept through the halls, searching for his mother. He cleared the upstairs quickly and made his way downstairs and to the main enterence. Activating his Sharingan to the highest level, (Three tomes) Itachi glared at the man standing in the courtyard.

"Shisui?" Itachi stopped short as he saw his only friend standing before him with Kunai and shuriken wounds covering his body, his clothes soaked his his own blood, and probably the blood of other Uchiha. "Shisui! Who did this? Tell me!"

"Why ask me?" The other Uchiha asked. "You know that you did all of this." Itachi took a step back. "Now you will die by my hand as I avenge the Uchiha!"

Shisui drew and threw a set of eight shuriken at Itachi who dodged into a shower of kunai and a Katon ninjutsu. Dozens of kunai pierced Itachi as he replaced himself with a log that was promptly incinerated by the Katon ninjutsu Shisui fired at Itachi. Itachi re-appeared directly infront of his friend and delivered a crushing blow to the young man's sternum. The blow should only have stunned Shisui momentarally, however Itachi's child-hood friend began to cough up blood in massive quantities. Itachi looked on in horror as his only friend drowned in his own blood right before the ANBU captain's eyes.

"No…" Itachi stuttered. "I-I couldn't have." The young teen cried out in an agonizing scream that grated against the very fiber of the ANBU team that landed and surrounded him.

"Itachi-san, step away from Shisui-san's body." The captain spoke up. "You are under arrest for the murder of Uchiha Shisui. We saw you kill him with our own eyes."

"You can't arrest me." Itachi said in a low, menacing voice. "I have nothing but defend myself here. The…the final punch there s-should have only stunned him. DAMMIT!!! He must have had a huge number of broken ribs."

"Whether or not it was self defense or not, we must arrest you." The ANBU captain stated. "You are too emotionally distraut to make rational decisions."

By this time more and more ANBU teams were arriving and swarming the Uchiha district. No survivors were found. Within twenty minutes, all of Konoha was under full lockdown and only Jounin and Chunin were permitted to be outside. Civilians, Genin, and achademy students were forced to remain indoors. The Gates were sealed as if to repel foreign invaders, and patrols were sent running through out Konoha and the surrounding land.

XXX

Sasuke woke up slowly, blinking to adjust his eyes to the glaring light. His memories of the mid-day incident slammed into the front of Sasuke's mind and he jolted upright. Looking at his surroundings, Sasuke immdedialty spoted Naruto and Nii Yugito sitting about ten feet away from him. He gripped his forehead with his right hand and winced as he felt a pounding headache. "Ung." He unintelligibly muttered, alerting Naruto and Yugito to his state of consiousness.

"Sasuke! " Naruto exclaimed. "You're awake!"

"Where am I?" Sasuke asked. "Where's Itachi-nii-san?"

"He has been taken into custody the last I heard from the ANBU team guarding me." Yugito said. "It's currently mid-afternoon. Hokage-sama has placed Konoha under lock-down so we cannot go outdoors."

"Screw the lock-down!" Sasuke said harchly as he stood up swiftly, only to sink to a knee as his vision flickered and swirled.

"Easy there, Sasuke-kun." Yugito put a hand on Sasuke's shoulder to try to comfort him. "You banged your head pretty good when you collapsed in the middle of the street. It was lucky that Naruto-kun spotted you before you were run over by someone."

"I almost was until nii-san's clone pushed me out of the way." Sasuke replied as he stood up slowly this time. "I have to get Nii-san out of trouble. He didn't do anything."

"I know Itachi-sensei didn't do anything, but we can't go out into the streets during a lockdown." Naruto replied.

"I thought that rules were meant to be broken." Sasuke replied quoting one of the blonde's favorite sayings.

"But this is serious, Sasuke. We could get into really big trouble." Naruto retorted.

"What if we used a henge?" Yugito asked innocently. Sasuke's and Naruto's eyes widened before exclaiming in unison.

"You're a Genius!"

XXX

Naruto, Sasuke, and Nii Yugito ran down an abandoned street disguised as a pair of Chunin following a Jounin squad leader. Their speed wasn't anything to be amazed at, but it was fast enough to not arouse too much attention. Attention that the threesome didn't want. Within minutes they were scouring the Uchiha district looking for any survivors according to hand signals exchanged between Yugito and a Chunin squad of four that they met in the Uchiha district. It seemed that only ANBU, and high Jounin were covering the center of the massacre where most of the bodies had been recovered from, and also Uchiha Itachi was found 'murdering' his best friend. The Chunin and lower Jounin were assigned the parameter of the scene and the duty of patrolling the village hidden in leaves.

"I don't think that we are going to be able to get much closer with these disguises." Yugito told Sasuke and Naruto as the entered a house looking for any Uchiha.

"Then we henge into ANBU and get further in." Sasuke replied. Already going through the handseals to perform a henge.

"That won't work." Naruto stated. "I've tried to henge my way away from ANBU before and they can always tell where I am. They'd spot us a mile away."

"**You could always hop onto my back and we'd never get stopped." **The Kyuubi growled from inside Naruto's mind.

"Kyu-chan says that we should just ride her over to the center of this mess. No one would want to stop her." Naruto relayed the demon fox's message to the small group.

Yugito and Sasuke sweatdropped at this. "And the ANBU _armies_ we'd be up against?" Yugito asked.

"They'd obviously be too afraid of Kyu-chan. Most of them probably experienced her first attack, so they'll try to steer clear of her and consequently us." Naruto replied with every confidence that his plan, a.k.a. the Kyuubi's plan, would work.

"Or you could simply come with me." A fourth voice spoke up, freezing the three occupants of the room. Naruto quickly whirled around and beamed at the old man.

"Jiji!" Naruto nearly shouted. "What are you doing here?"

"Finding out who has been mascarading around as some of my ninja." The elderly hokage replied with a smile. "I was on my way to the scene, but you three crossed my path and I was simply curious." He chuckled briefly. "However I guess that is shouldn't be too surprised to find you here Naruto-kun. You've come up in conversations that I've had recently."

Naruto didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. "Ano…Jiji?"

"Yes Naruto-kun?" The wise old man asked. "What is it?"

"Could we really come with you to Sasuke's house?" Naruto asked hopefully. "Itachi-sensei wouldn't have done something like this."

"Yeah, that's right!" Sasuke added his own two thoughts. "Nii-san would never kill our family."

"Well, let's hope that you are right." Sarutobi replied. "But in order to find out, we have to get moving don't we?"

With that the group of four walked at a leasurely pace set by the Hokage. They were not interrupted or stopped by any ANBU or Jounin/Chunin teams. No one would dare impersonate the Hokage, even if they did, they would be found out by the ANBU in a matter of seconds. The highly skilled ninja were trained to detect henges and any form of camoflauge so that they wouldn't be ambushed on missions or during wartime operations. Hence they could tell that the Sandaime passing before them and the three with him were really who they appeared to be, and they let them pass without confrontation.

For Naruto and Sasuke, the trip, or rather the walk was tense. Out of every shadow, every corner, every nook and cranny, they were expecting someone to attack them. They simply had not developed the sense of awareness that normal shinobi, even a mere Genin had when first in the field. While they were tense, the Sandaime Hokage and Nii Yugito were not. They were a Kage and Jinchuuriki respectively, trained ninjas, and some of the most powerful people to walk inside the walls of the village hidden in leaves. They didn't need to fear an attack especially when three quarters of the village's shinobi were currently patrolling the area.

It took five minutes to walk to the Uchiha head family manor. When they arrived, the sight before them shocked Yugitio, Naruto and Sasuke. They had never seen something like the horrific sight of rows and rows of bodies hidden under white sheets. Sarutobi lowered his hat to pay his respects to the deceased Uchiha. He had seen countless similar scenes during the Second and Third Great Shinobi Wars. The bloodshed in the past surpassed this tragedy by a hundred fold, but it didn't lessen the pain of looking at the dead bodies of his precious villagers.

Sasuke's legs gave out from under him and slumped to the ground in a daze. He didn't know what to do. All of his clan and family were dead. He couldn't bear to look at the still bodies of his, but he couldn't tear his eyes away from the scene. It was terrifying but at the same time he could not look away. He wanted nothing more to find himself waking up and finding out everything was a dream. He wanted his Kaa-san. He wanted his Nii-san. His Nii-san! Where was Itachi? He had to be found. He was innocent.

Naruto stopped short silmutaniously with Sasuke as his eyes fell on the rows of white sheets. He didn't gag, or collapse like Sasuke, but he was paralyzed. The Uchiha clan was one of the strongest clans in all of the hidden leaf, and for someone to have wiped them out…well almost wiped them out, Naruto thought as he glanced at Sasuke on his knees next to him. For some one to wipe out almost the entire Uchiha clan, they had to have been skilled. Naruto was willing to wager that they could make the old man Hokage break a sweat.

Yugito stopped to look at the bodies as well. It was simply mind-boggling that this many proud Uchiha had died by the hand of a mass murderer. They were renowned to be the strongest clan in all of Konoha, and perhapse the shinobi world with their powerful Kekkai Genkai the Sharingan.

"Hokage-sama!" A leaf shinobi called out to his leader. "Thank goodness you are here." He ran over to the old man and saluted smartly. "The current body count is at two hundred and fifty-six. Our teams have managed to find five survivors, including Uchiha Mikoto." Sasuke shot up at his mother's name.

"Where's Kaa-san?" Sasuke demanded of the Chunin. "Tell me now!"

"It's not polite to interrupt Sasuke-kun." The Hokage placed a hand on the young Uchiha's shoulder in an attempt to calm the boy down a notch. "I believe Shinobi-san was going to tell us." Turning his attention to the Chunin his face grew serious. "What of the survivors."

"Mostly they were poisoned and were taken to the hospital. Their chances are not good." The Chunin paused for a moment. "Uchiha Mikoto had a sword stab wound to her chest, narrowly missing her heart. It pierced her lung and shattered a rib on entry. If we hadn't found her when we had, she probably would have blead out."

"And Uchiha Fugaku?" Sarutobi asked. "He was rather close to his wife, I do not think he would have strayed far from her side during a time of danger like this."

"That's the strange thing Hokage-sama, Uchiha Fugaku's body hasn't been recovered." The Chunin lowered his voice slightly. "All the dead have either been due to poison or sword wounds. No evidence of ninjutsu has been found."

"Either whomever did this refrained from ninjutsu because they knew massive chakra usage would alert shinobi in the village, or they didn't wish to reveal their identity through possible trademark jutsus." The Sandaime Hokage stated while looking around the area with his trained eyes. "By the lack of reports of chakra usage this morning in the Uchiha district, we can deduce that the victims didn't know they were being attacked until they were fatally wounded or terribley poisoned."

"Either some one increadibly stealthy, or perhaps a member of their clan with whom they would have been comfortable around and not suspect." Nii Yugito added her two thoughts. "The latter is probably more likely simply due to the to the fact that Uchiha Fugaku is missing, and we have two reliable sources that can vouch for Itachi-san's innocence. They are the two most powerful Uchiha at present in the clan, and as such have the ability and surprise needed to pull something like this off."

"Thank you Yugito-chan." The Hokage replied. "But I think that we should hold off our accusations until we have solid proof of guilt and—"

"HOKAGE-SAMA!" Maito Guy made his presence know and appeared in front of the village leader. "UCHIHA FUGAKU-SAN HAS DONE A MOST UNYOUTHFUL THING!"

"Yes Guy?" The Hokage asked the green Jounin taijutsu specialist. "What is it?"

"HE HAS LOCKED HIMSELF INTO A SHELTER AND REFUSES TO COME OUT!" Guy replied. "HE HAS EVEN LAUNCHED KUNAI AND KATON NINJUTSUS AT US!"

"Lead the way." Sarutobi replied in an authoritanian tone of voice. He was now deadly serious. "You may just be right Yugito-chan. This looks very bad for Fugaku-san."

"Should I watch after these two?" The Chunin asked the Hokage, indicating Naruto and Sasuke.

"Let them come, but stay with Yugito-chan and keep them at a safe distance." The Hokage ordered. "I do not want either of them to get hurt."

"Hai Hokage-sama!" The Chunin saluted smartly and fell into line behind Guy and the group hurried to Uchiha Fugaku's position.

XXX

He had overcome the Snake's controlling jutsu and paced the parimeter of his bunker where he was trapped. He had single-handedly killed his entire family. Well, not him, but the Snake bastard Orochimaru. He had been subjected to a back seat view of his body's actions. He was there, but simply not in control.

Then Mikoto died. He lost it. In a surge of emotions, fear, anger, self-hate, sadness, guilt, pain, lonliness, he had forced his body to obey his commands. If he had acted sooner he might have saved…his beloved wife. Now he had nothing to go back to. His sons would hate him. Konoha would probably kill him, and he knew he deserved it. His Uchiha pride had killed the Uchiha clan. If he had fled when Orochimaru had come none of this might have happened. His family might still be…alive.

The Uchiha clan head snorted in a very un-Uchiha like manner at the predicament he was in. The possession jutsu had returned to control a few times and it used that time to attack various Konoha shinobi with a variety of weapons and techniques. Then there was this strange barrier that the snake had made around the bunker, inches from the outside walls. It incinerated practically everything that came into contact with it and left them as small piles of ash.

Try as he might, Uchiha Fugaku couldn't break through it. Whenever he performed a ninjutsu to combat the barrier it would pass right through and hit fellow leaf shinobi. There was nothing he could do here except wait. If he killed himself there was a possibility that the possession jutsu would take over his corpse and use it to continue to assault Konoha shinobi.

No the only way to end this day was to simply wait for someone to overcome the barrier, or for whomever was creating the barrier to run out of chakra. Then the damnable barrier would fail and he could be taken prisoner and executed.

Looking out the window mournfully he looked at the Hokage Mountain. His clan would never take control of Konoha. His clan would never defeat the Hyuuga. His clan would become a shameful marr to Konoha's wonderful history.

Fugaku watched shinobi fortifying positions and readying them-selves for a siege. A stretch of perhaps thrity meters separated the clan head from the rest of Konoha. It was no man's land. Nothing moved in it, not even animals or bugs. It was devoid of all life. Looking beyond that, Fugaku spotted the Sandaime Hokage with his white hat and robes standing out among the camoflauge and standard uniforms worn by the normal jounin, Chuunin, and ANBU shinobi.

Beyond the Hokage, the Uchiha clan leader spotted his son, Sasuke, standing next to a nameless Chunin, the Nibi Jinchuuriki and the Kyuubi brat. Anger flowed through the man's veins. How dare his family associate with such filth. Uchiha were better! Uchiha were born above everyone. They were superior. He would show his son that.

XXX

Sasuke and Naruto watched in amazement as the barrier flowing around the bunker seemingly absorbed and incinerated any attack. Water ninjutsu were useless as the unnatural flames of the barier warded even the strongest water ninjutsu away.

"That's one strong barrier." Naruto commented to his raven-haired friend.

"Hai." Sasuke replied. "I cannot believe that father would know something like this. It seems too unnatural."

"It's probably some sort of kinjutsu (Forbidden technique)." Yugito stated. "You're right that it is too unnatural to be a normal jutsu. It almost looks like a demonic technique, but it doesn't have the same malevolent feeling that a demon's chakra possesses."

"It's also not using enough chakra to be a demonic technique either, right Yugito-sensei?" Naruto asked for confirmation on his observations.

"Hai." Yugito replied.

"Then shouldn't an amount of demonic chakra stop the barrier from working properly?" Sasuke asked the femal jinchuuriki. He hadn't sat through all the lectures with his nii-san for nothing. He had picked up a few things about demonic chakra that were useful. "Demonic chakra corrodes and distorts any type of human chakra."

"Hmm…" Yugito took a moment to ponder Sasuke's point. "In theory it should disrupt any sort of chakra. That's why genjutsu is useless against jinchuuriki who can use their prisoner's chakra. I don't see any reason why even introducing demonic chakra to an attack would disrupt or destroy the molding and flow of the chakra put into the jutsu."

The nameless Chunin watched the three talk from a short distance away, slightly closer to the danger zone, to protect his charges. _It's amazing what children so young have learned._ He frowned slightly as; after all, it was the demon spawn he was somewhat complimenting with his thoughts. _But how that girl knows about the Kyuubi's vile chakra…and she seems to know more about it than they did!_ The Konoha nin didn't let any hatred of the Kyuubi and it's brat show while he was around the elderly Fire Kage. That senile old man had a thing for the filth.

Naruto quickly formed the fox handseal and discreatly summoned the great fox from her seal. _THAT_ shocked the Chunin to his very bone marrow. The Kyuubi was free…and cuddily?

Naruto's Kyu-chan was currently receiving a behind-the-ears scratch from the blonde boy, and a back rub from the young Uchiha…one of the last Uchiha in the world of the living.

"So you think that will work Kyu-chan?" Sasuke asked the red vixen as she purred in delight. She simply loved this kind of treatment.

"**It should, however in all experimentation, there is a chance of weakness or failure that is unexpected. This isn't something to try in a situation this critical." **She replied before letting out a small growl of contentment. **"However, seeing as you and I are the only ones who can manipulate my chakra at the moment, we'll have to do it."**

"Why couldn't you just run over and difuse it yourself?" Yugito asked. "You have control over your own powers when Naruto releases you like this."

"**Partially true." **She answered. **"But the further away from Naruto I get, the harder it is to access my chakra with my single tail of power." **She stopped to look at the barrier and bunker and then hissed in anger. The hair on the back of her neck started to stand up straight. **"Hebi-teme!"** (Snake bastard)

"WHAT!" Naruto, Sasuke, and Yugito exclaimed all at once.

"What's he doing here?" Sasuke asked.

"Does everyone know?" Yugito asked the Kyuubi.

"Where is he?" Naruto growled last. "He has to pay!"

"**It's his developmental kinjutsu." **The Kyuubi growled as she continued to stare at it with red slitted eyes. **"I remember hearing that he used something like that a long time ago. This is more advanced from what I remember hearing, but that is to be expected as he improves with time."**

"Do you still think that our idea will work?" Naruto whispered.

"**Probably, but given what I know and have heard about Orochimaru, we cannot underestimate the strength of the jutsu." **The nine tailed fox turned around to face the three humans. **"We'll have to overkill it with my chakra."**

"We cannot risk letting you use huge amounts outside of Naruto due to the possibility that there will be a negetive impact on either the seal, Naruto, you or both." Yugito analysed the situation with flawless ability only found in highly experienced ninja.

"So Naruto and Kyu-chan will have to get in close and personal in order for Naruto to manipulate Kyu-chan's chakra." Sasuke finished. "That means that he'll need cover and protection."

"What about a Kage Bunshin?" Naruto asked, the idea poping into his head just then. "He would have access to a portion of Kyu-chan's chakra, while we would be safely tucked away."

"The strain of using demonic chakra might 'pop' him." Yugito replied. "Plus there is always a loss when transmitting chakra through a distance. The farther away you get, the loss gets bigger and bigger with little to no gain on the receiving end."

"We'll need the support of the ninja here in order to make this work." Sasuke stated, after ruling out the other options. "Their high level shinobi. They can help."

"Chunin-san." Yugito began as she looked at their 'guard.' "We need to talk with Hokage-sama. We might have a way to get through that barrier."

The Leaf nin gave her an incredulous look, but disappeared to find the Hokage, if for nothing else than to avoid any future sticky situations with the leader conserning a young blonde boy. A few minutes later the Hokage arrived with the Chunin in tow.

"You have an idea?" He asked the three—no four—he just spotted the Kyuubi sitting in Naruto's lap…looking tense.

Yugito informed Sarutobi of their plan and explained what they needed, and what the risks on their end of the line were. With that information, Sarutobi's mind whirled away crunching through jutsus to use, which ninja to carry out the operation with the least risk of failure and casualties. He had to factor in many variables in order to take advantage of the ideas presented to him. Meanwhile the attacks on the barrier had all but stopped. It was clear conventional and not so conventional methods, jutsus, and other assorted paths would not grant the konoha shinobi access to the other side of the barrier. Suddenly, the Hokage's hat lifted slightly and the ancient shinobi's hardened eyes peered out from underneath. It was time.

XXX

Angrilly Fugaku watched the leaf shinobi suddenly explode into action. From the standstill a mere breath before, it was slightly unsettling at the 180-degree turn the situation went. What had seemed like a standstill, had now possible been turned into a last strike desperation move, or a planned assault with a high probability of success. Simply due to the number of shinobi, Fugaku figured it was a desperation strike. That was until he saw one Uzumaki Naruto break free of the trenches, and dash towards the barrier.

"Now's my chance to peg that brat and kill him once and for all." Fugaku muttered under his breath as he drew a handful of kunai and shuriken and threw them. Without even bothering to look if he had connected with his attack, the Uchiha clan head ran through a string of handseals before pausing to activate his bloodline limit, the Sharingan.

But pain flooded the Uchiha's brain as his eyes turned red. It felt like someone had taken a super long senbon needle and shoved it though his temple and into his brain without killing him. His arm moved against his will. Fighting, Fugaku forced his Sharnigan to deactivate and slumped to the ground in relief as both the pain and the attepted re-possession of his body terminated with its deactivation. With a deep breath, Fugaku weerily made it to his feet in time to see Naruto's chakra laden fist smash through the barrier, the window and into his face. And then he knew not. The Kyuubi's chakra burning his face into a bloody pulp.

XXX

**Whoo hooo! Part one is done!! (no rhyme intended.)**

**I am separating this portion of the story into two chapters simply because it would take too long to write a twelve to fourteen thousand word chapter. I felt that enough was enough and that this had to be published to satisfy all my reader's wants of a new chapter. I am pleased to see that Together or Alone? Has over 18,000 hits and 130 reviews. I would REALLY like to top 150 with his chapter, and by the end of the Uchiha Massecre mini arc, have close to 180 to make this my story with the most reviews.**

**I have decided to keep Naruto and Yugito in a brother/sister relationship or a student/teacher relationship. They will not be paired together. Please continue to vote for pairs keeping this in mind.**

**READ AND REVIEW!!!!**

**~Cyberviper42~**


	11. Chapter 11: The Uchiha Slaughter Part 2

**Well here's a new chapter of Together or Alone!!! I know that Sasuke is a little OC-ish, but that is because we have not seen him right before or after the Uchiha massacre in the cannon. We only see him in flashbacks as a little child who is obsessed with his nii-san Itachi, and then afterwards as an avenger. In my story Sasuke has been getting training from Itachi which is something that he almost never received in the cannon. In my opinon that alone is enough to change him slightly.**

**Please do not flame for the contents of the chapter. If you recall, I wanted Naruto to experience living on his own with friends to support him, and this is simply a means to that end. Also, I have something kinda cool planned for Naruto and his friends that revolve around the happenings in this chapter.**

**I won't update the vote tally right now, so please wait for a future chapter for the final results. I'm going to close the poll in a few chapters.**

**ANY WAY, LET'S GET TO CHAPTER 11!!!**

**READ AND REVIEW!**

"Normal speech"

_Thoughts_

**Biju speech**

_**Biju thoughts**_

Chapter 11: The Uchiha Massacre: Part II: The End?

Last time on Together or Alone

XXX

"_Now's my chance to peg that brat and kill him once and for all." Fugaku muttered under his breath as he drew a handful of kunai and shuriken and threw them. Without even bothering to look if he had connected with his attack, the Uchiha clan head ran through a string of handseals before pausing to activate his bloodline limit, the Sharingan._

_But pain flooded the Uchiha's brain as his eyes turned red. It felt like someone had taken a super long senbon needle and shoved it though his temple and into his brain without killing him. His arm moved against his will. Fighting, Fugaku forced his Sharnigan to deactivate and slumped to the ground in relief as both the pain and the attepted re-possession of his body terminated with its deactivation. With a deep breath, Fugaku weerily made it to his feet in time to see Naruto's chakra laden fist smash through the barrier, the window and into his face. And then he knew not. The Kyuubi's chakra burning his face into a bloody pulp._

XXX

Pain. All Fugaku could feel was burning, unrelenting pain. It was enough to drive any man crazy, but then again Uchiha Fugaku is not simply any man. Stumbling back, he felt his face with a hand, wincing as his dirty fingers passed over patches of raw skin and meat usually hidden by skin. Taking his hand away from his face, he lookd at it with his onyx eyes. Blood dripped freely from his hand and fell to the floor, creating crimson stars on the dirt floor.

_That bastard demon brat!!!_ Fugaku raged in his head, looking at the window where Naruto's arm was sticking through the barrier, still coated with demonic chakra. A split second later, the barrier fizzled away from the demonic chakra as they battled for dominance. Try as the barrier and its creater might, the demonic chakra eminating from Naruto pushed the barier away. Suddenly, the barrier collapsed and Naruto stumbled forward through the window into the bunker. The barrier had a resisting force and its collapse was unexpected.

Fugaku acted at the same time as the Konoha nin who were still thrity meters away, reached Naruto first and two senbon needles, punctured Naruto's bright red eyes. Time seemed to stop short for Naruto as his world turned black. His hearing remained long enough to here Fugaku's body hit the ground with dozens of kunai puncturing his chest and legs.

XXX

As soon as the leaf nin saw the barier collapse under Naruto's demonic assault, they jumped into action. Naruto's fall and subsequent moment of weakness was capitalized on before their eyes by the Uchiha Clan head. It was too late, but that didn't stop them from launching a wave of Kunai at the enraged Uchiha, killing him.

The Hokage was practically at Naruto's side the second after Fugaku fell. Checking for a pulse he found one, and winced at the pitiful sight of Naruto's face. Two senbon needles protruded from his eyes straight through the iris. It would be impossible to heal. Suddenly a small red fox was standing on Naruto's chest looking at her host's eyes.

"**I will not be able to heal this…"** Her ears flopped down, a sign any Inuzuka would be able to decern as sadness.

"But you have been able to heal all of Naruto's past inzuries, including organ damage." The Hokage stated, slightly confused. "How is this any different."

"**The eye is possibly the most complex part of the human body. If slightly damaged, then it's possible that I would be able to heal it, but this damn needle has completely destroyed the most sensitive and important parts of the eye, lenses, and nerves."**

"Could you fix the nerves?" Sarutobi asked. "You've been able to do that in the past correct?"

"**Hai, but it wouldn't do anything to save Naruto-kun's vision."** The vixen replied.

"But it would allow us to transplant an eye." A medic nin, stated as he approached the Hokage, blonde boy and fox…summon? "Like Kakashi-san's sharingan eye."

"**Where would these eyes come from?" **The Kyuubi asked, and then paused as everyone turned to look at Uchiha Fugaku's still warm body.

"It appears we may have another Kakashi on our hands." The Sandaime said aloud in a quiet voice.

"**Do both eyes."**__The Kyuubi commanded, earning him a look from the medic nin.

"But the chances of success diminish with two new eyes to adapt to." The medic nin stated. "Quite fnakly Kakashi-san's transplant was a one in a hundred shot of success."

"Do as the fox wishes." The Hokage ordered the nin. "She can deal with any problems afterwards."

"As you wish Hokage-sama." The medic nin bowed slightly as the fox disappeared in a small cloud of chakra smoke. He opened a radio channel on his wireless communication radio and called for back up. This would be his riskiest operation ever. It was so unusual that it was purely an experiment.

Producing a scroll from his pocket, he unrolled it and unsealed a variety of field medical supplies. His first step was to remove Naruto's damaged eyes as neatly as possible. He flipped through a few handseals and activated a chakra scalup which he used to carevully remove Naruto's eyes. Through out the process, he couldn't help but marvel at the fact that the empty eye sockets didn't bleed profusely with the absence of their eyes. It made his job much easier. Turning to Uchiha Fugaku's corpse, he used chakra to surround and sever the eye muscles and nerves. Then he gently plucked the eye from Fugaku's right eye socket and placed it into Naruto's. He did the same with the left eye.

Activating his most powerful healin ninjutsu, the medic nin placed his glowing green palms over the blonde's eyes and held them there until he ran out of chakra. By this time, his back up arrived and the Hokage moved a few meters away to observe their work unnoticed. While the first medic nin didn't really care that Naruto was the village pariah for unknown reasons, the back up team was old enough to remember the Kyuubi's attack. One of them was old enough to even be a part of the medical squads sent out to find the wounded after the dark night.

"Why on earth would you heal this demon brat?" the leader demanded of the chakra depleated medic nin. Glancing around at the bunker, Uchiha Fugaku's lack of eyes caught his attention. "You son of a bitch, you gave that brat the sharingan?"

"Is something wrong with that?" The Hokage asked from the shadows, finally stepping in. "After all he was simply obeying my orders."

"N-Nothing's w-wrong with that at all Hokage-sama." The leader stuttered out in surprise. Turning to the rest of his squad he ordered one to look after Naruto while he took the rest out into the compound to releave any other medic teams.

It didn't take long at all for the medic who was left behind to finish connecting all the nerves and muscles to the transplanted eyes. Standing to leave, he was stopped by his kage.

"Thank you for your work here."

"N-No problem Hokage-sama." The petrified med-nin stuttered before exiting the bunker as fast as he could. He didn't want to be involved with anything that the Hokage deemed important. All he wanted to do was live out the rest of his career and retire to have a small family. The lower profile he kept, the better chance of actually achieving this goal.

Turning to several ANBU shinobi standing alert for danger around the bunker, Sarutobi gave them an order. "Move Naruto to the Hospital and guard the door. Allow medical staff enterance to perform checkups, but no one else."

"Hai! Hokage-sama." The captain saluted before signaling for his men to pick up Naruto. They disappeared in a flury of leaves and clouds of smoke.

XXX

"**Wakey, wakey kit!"**

_What?_

"**It's time to wake up and smell the roses."**

_Why?_

"**Everyone is worried about you, kit."**

_Who?_

"**Who do you think?"**

_Jiji? Sasuke? Itachi-sensei, Yugito-sensei?_

"**They are all waiting for you."**

_But I won't be able to see them. Sasuke's dad threw something into them and now I can't see anything._

"**Some med-nins and I were able to heal your sight."**

_So my eyes are back to normal now?_

"**Not quite, but you'll see when you wake up."**

Suddenly, Naruto felt himself falling. His stomach fell through his legs as the feeling of weightlessness took ahold of his body. He thrashed his arms, trying to steady himself, but they were quickly stopped.

"Don't let him move, he'll only hurt himself!"

_Who's that?_ Naruto's eyes shot open as he tried to lunge up from his prone position on a hospital bed. White hospital light blared into his eyes as he looked at the ceiling. Squinting, he managed to reduce the glare to a barable level

"Where am I?" Naruto asked no one in particular. His voice oddly and chillingly lacking emotion as he felt a small amount of pain in his eyes. _Guess they aren't fully healed._ Naruto thought to himself as he lifted a now unrestrained hand to feel his face. It was normal. He still felt his wisker birthmarks, his hair, alibitly a little longer, fell in the same fashion as he remembered.

As Naruto felt his features, the nurse replied; "You're in the hospital Naruto-kun. You've been through a traumatic experience, so take it easy."

"What about Sasuke and Itachi-sensei?" Naruto asked. "Are they alright?"

_Not even awake for a minute and he's thinking about others…_The Nurse thought to herself. _Hokage-sama was right. He's just a child with an unfair upbringing. _"I do not know about Uchiha Itachi, several rumors have flown around, so the details about him are not known precisely, however, Uchiha sasuke was not harmed in the slaughter, and his mother Uchiha Mikoto looks like she might recover from her wounds."

"That's good." Naruto murmured sorftly closing his eyes. "Do you think that they will come visit me?"

"Maybe soon, once you have recovered more." The nurse replied with a smile. She stroked his spikey blonde hair helping him drift off into slumber. As soon as the blonde blue-eyed boy was asleep, the nurse removed her hand from Naruto's hair and made several notes on her clipboard before continueing on to other patients. She had a lot of them.

XXX

The Sandaime Hokage sat in his office puffing on his pipe trying to work through mountains of paperwork that the Uchiha Massacre had created. Reports from the hospital's morgue indicated that the cause of death for roughly sixty-five precent of the casualties, mostly civilian, was poison. More specifically; moderately quick snake venom that could be easily slipped into food and drink of almost any kind in its powdered state. The only problem with this was that the venom was a rare find in the best of circumstances.

Either Uchiha Fugaku had used the clan funds the purchase massive quantities over a long period of time, or someone who had access to the snakes that produced the venom had been involved with the slaughter. Sarutobi glared at the summation of the report. If looks could kill, then the document, its curriers, and the author would have keeled over dead in their places. The evidence pointed to Orochimaru's possible involvement, and that did not sit well with the old Hokage.

If Orochimaru was involved, then Sarutobi knew some fault of the massacre lay on his shoulders. If he hadn't let the Snake Sannin slip through his fingers at the time of his defection, then maybe, just maybe, this tragedy wouldn't have happened. No. He couldn't dwell on what ifs right now. The village hidden in the leaves was hurting and he had to do everything in his power as Hokage to fix and heal it.

Standing up, Sarutobi paused to place his wide-brimmed hat on his head before sweeping out through the door of his office. Passing the reception area, one of the secretaries flagged him down and passed along a message

"Hokage-sama, the hospital says _that_ boy has awoken, and is resting now." She said in an even tone of voice, that even a trained shinobi couldn't see through…or rather listen through. She kept her emotions well masked.

"Thank you my dear." The Sandaime Hokage replied with a smile before walking out and down the stairs.

XXX

Hyuuga Hiashi hated snotty old council members, especially those who claimed to be members of the proud Hyuuga clan, wielders of the all-seeing Byakugan. It didn't help the fact that they roused him at an ungodly hour simply to drag him to a meeting which they assured him was of the highest urgency, but was simply about what to do with a person named Uzumaki Naruto, who had been residing in the halls of the Hyuuga clan for severel months after protecting the heir, Hyuuga Hinata.

"I still do not see the problem with his continued stay in our compound." Hiashi stated in reply to the council's demands to remove the blonde Jinchuuriki from their home. "Even with they eyes of Uchiha Fugaku, there is no reason to suspect that he will be able to activate the Sharingan."

"But he might be able to activate it like Kakashi-san." An old woman spoke up. "We cannot let our Gentle fist leave the clan."

"You know as well as I do that you cannot bring out the true effectiveness of the Gentle Fist without the Byakugan, which Uzumaki Naruto defiantly does not possess." Hiashi calmly replied. "Also, I believe that reports show that Kakashi's implanted eye was activated at the time or implantation, which wasn't the case with Naruto-kun. While I'll be the first to admit that it doesn't rule out the chance of a later activation of the sharingan, it should produce a different result this time that in the Copy-nin's case."

"That may be well and good, but what about Uchiha Itachi and his younger brother Uchiha Sasuke?" A man asked. "Are they not constantly in contact and training with Uzumaki-san? They might be able to take our Gentle Fist elsewhere and—"

"You know well enough that Uchiha Itachi is a loyal leaf shinobi." Hiashi interrupted coldly. "Don't you dare insinuate that the entirety of the Uchiha clan are worthless traitors who would gladly give away something that we hold so close."

"But the Uchiha are spiteful—"

"Not Itachi and his younger brother." Hizashi spoke up from his place near the wall behind Hiashi.

"Do not speak unless spoken to Branch Member." A pissed off member of the council ordered.

"I will speak my peace and then let you form incomplete and incorrect assumptions that prove your stupidity." Hizashi replied earning indignant glares, gasps, and killing intent. "While they are Uchiha through and through, they are different from their kin and father. Itachi's experiences as a young child in a shinobi world most likely shaped him into his own person outsie of the control of his clan. Thus he became a spy for the Hokage, when it seemed something was afoot in the Uchiha clan. No one would betray their own family unless they saw a different light that the rest of those Sharingan wielders around him."

"I doesn't strike me as odd in any way that he would also try to keep Sasuke away from the clan's goals in order to ensure that his brother may grow up seeing how the Uchiha were wrong." Hizashi continued. "Thus I think that it seems natural for them to act most suspicious and un-Uchiha"

Hiashi nodded his head in agreement.

"While we cannot harm the boy or face the wrath of the Hyuuga clan, we can expel hims from the grounds." The council spokesman stated. "Naruto has become a risk to our secret clan techniques and taijutsu and should be removed from a position where he can harm the clan. You cannot go against that ruling Hiashi, it is a key piece of Hyuuga Clan law."

"I will not go against your ruling…" The council smiled. "…However I cannot deny my family's favorite guest from entering the grounds to visit and help my daughter and nefew grow stronger. After all, I must ensure that the clan's heir is strong enough to take up the mantle of clan head when I pass on the title and responsibilities."

Hizashi grinned as he heard his brother's words. "I shall take Hinata and Neji to visit Naruto in the hospital this morning." He whispered into his brother's ear before seeing Hiashi nod. With that affermative, he left and activated his bloodline limit to find his son and neice. It wasn't that hard to find them. They practically never left eachother's company while in the compound, constantly training and developing their Byakugan.

Right now they were sparing in the courtyard outside the head family's training hall. It was the perfect place for Gentle Fist practice and spars due to its level terrain and soft surface to protect people when they fell paralyzed from chakra-ladened blows. It took all of five minutes for Hizashi to cross the distance from the council meeting room and the training area. There, Hizashi found Neji land a palm strike on Hinata's arm. Initially he was confused when Hinata didn't fall down, or indicate any damage was taken. Neji had clearly landed a chakra ladened blow. Peering at the two with his Byakugan active, he saw that Hinata was creating a thin chakra shield under the impacted areas, and thus able to avoid taking damage.

_That_ was unexpected. It was practical in theory, but required an enourmous amount of chakra to sustain over large areas of ones body. With the Byakugan, Hinata was able to only create the minumum shield to protect her from Neji's strikes. Truly it saved chakra, but you still needed to pump increasingly large amounts of chakra into your shield, as the attacks grew more powerful. Suddenly, Hinata's shield shattered and Neji's palm connected with his cousin's chest, right above the heart. Before any one could blink, Hizashi was at Hinata's side as she lay on the gound.

"Are you alright Hinata-chan?" He asked, consern evident in his voice.

"H-hai…" Hinata replied shakily. "My shield managed to damper most of Neji-nii-san's attack."

"That's good to here." Hizashi replied as he stood up.

"I assume that you didn't come here to observe our spar father, why are you here?" Neji asked.

"Something terrible has happened, and Naruto was hurt in the middle of it." Hizashi replied. "I was wondering if the two of you would like to go visit him in the hospital."

"Hai, we should go see Naruto-kun, but we should change first." Hinata answered for the two of them.

"How badly was he hurt?" Neji asked as they began to walk to their rooms to change.

"He lost his vision, but he was able to regain it with a medical procedure only performed once before." Hizashi answered. "To be quite honest, he only had a one in a million chance of the operation working, but tests seem to confirm that he has his vision back."

"That's great news!" Hinata chirped as she skipped into her room. Neji continued to walk down the hall and thenentered his room in a much more dignified manner.

Ten minutes later, Hizashi was leading Hinata and Neji out of the Hyuuga compound to the Hospital. Traveling at a pace that was easy for the children, it took fifteen minutes to walk there. They walked through the main enterence and stopped at the main desk. The receptionist looked up at the proud Hyuuga.

"How may I help you Hyuuga-san?" She asked politely.

"Yes, which room is Uzumaki Naruto in?" Hizashi asked.

"I'm sorry who?" The receptionist asked.

"Uzumaki Naruto." Hizashi replied impatiently.

Without even glancing at her lists, the receptionist replied; "You wouldn't want to see the likes him."

"I beg your pardon?" Hizashi asked, narrowing his eyes, his voice dropping to a spine-chilling tone that threatened pain.

"R-room 203." The poor woman squeaked as she wilted under the glare of three Hyuuga. Without another word, Hizashi sweapt Hinata and Neji away from the main lobby.

Once they were out of hearing range of those in the lobby, Hinata looked up at her Uncle and asked; "Why did that lady not like Naruto-kun?"

"Most people in Konoha don't like Naruto because he has Kyuubi sealed inside him." Hizashi replied.

"But that is illogical." Neji stated without emotion in his voice.

"Yes it is, however they do not know the truth about her." Hizashi answered. "They still think that she is a monster demon, and thus Naruto is as well." He paused before continuing uninterrupted by Hinata or Neji. "You see, some people think that Naruto is Kyuubi reincarnated as a human. They want to avenge their lost loved ones who died in the Kyuubi attack."

"That's aweful!" Hinata exclaimed. "So no one in Konoha likes him?"

"No." Neji answered her. "There's most of our clan who see him as a normal boy. Those two at the ramen stand seem to like him as well as Hokage-sama."

Hizashi nodded. "There's also Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Sasuke." He added to the growing list. "They spend a lot of time training together."

By now the group of three had reached the room Naruto was in, only to find two ANBU stationed outside the door. Hizashi approached the guards and asked; "May we enter to visit Uzumaki-san?"

The ANBU on the right looked at his partner for confirmation before answering with a single nod. Hizashi slid open to door and ushered Hinata and Neji into the room before closing it behind them. Naruto lay on the white hospital bed, which was situated on the far side of the room under a wide window that revealed a great view of the Hokage Monument. Naruto's golden-yellow hair splaid over his pillow, practically glowing in the sunlight that streamed in through the window, his eyes were closed indicating his was asleep and all in all made a very cute picture. Quietly the three Hyuuga sat down and looked at the young Jinchuuriki.

"He doesn't look like he's in pain." Hinata observed as she looked at Naruto. She giggled slightly; "He looks..." Blushing she didn't finish her sentence.

XXX

"**You know that sitting in here won't do you any good, kit." **The kyuubi sighed as she began a fresh assault on Naruto's resolve to stay in his mindscape for much longer than necessary. For some unknown reason, the blonde absolutely refused to return to the land of the living and wake up!

"So will being out there." Naruto retorted. "I've killed a clan head and now I'll become a criminal."

"**So that's what you're so worried about?" ** Kyuubi asked incredulously. **"You know that the Old man approved of you breaking through the barrier like that. He knew the risks. As soon as you were passed out, he was at yourside getting someone to restore your sight."**

"But, I killed." Naruto blubbered as only a seven-year-old can only do. "I saw my hand and your chakra burn his face away…It was aweful."

"**Come here Kit." **The red vixen told Naruto, who complied, wiping tears from his eyes. Aproaching the cage he stopped short of actually entering behind the bars.

"What?"

Thwap!

Naruto stared dumbly at the red fox sitting before him. Unconsciously he lifted a hand to his cheak to feel the raw section of his cheek. _That had hurt!_

"**You don't understand anything do you?" **The red fox stated with a sigh. **"If you were going to be executed or imprisoned, you would already be dead or in jail, instead of in a warm hospital bed with Hinata-chan, Neji-kun, and Hizashi-san visiting you."**

"You mean that they're here right now?" Naruto demanded.

"**Hai"** The Kyuubi replied with a bob of her head.

"Then wake me up so I can say high to them!" Naruto exclaimed.

"**No."**

"But they're probably worried sick about me!" Naruto shouted at the red vixen. "I've got to let them know that I'm alright!"

"**But I thought that you didn't want to wake up, kit."** The Nine-tailed fox spirit replied coily, secretly smirking behind one of her tails.

"Damn it, Kyu-chan!" Naruto swore. "I can't let my friends down. I cannot let my precious people suffer. I got to help them!"

"**I'm so glad to see that you're back to normal now, kit"** The demon fox smiled as any fox would, flashing her sharp teeth at him. **"Now wake up and smell the ramen!!"**

XXX

"Ramen!?" Naruto shot upright, looking around his room for Kami's gift to mortals. Then it hit him. This wasn't his room at all! Looking out the window he gazed at the Hokage's monument before noticing something funney in the refelction of the window. Three people were sitting behind him. Hinata was anime grying because Naruto hadn't seen her when he woke up, while the father and son duo were sweatdropping at Naruto's word.

"Is ramen the only thing that you think of Naruto?" Neji asked the blonde. "Even when you're in a coma, unconscious, or asleep?"

"No!" Protested Naruto. "It's—It's just that I though that I smelled ramen."

The Trio of Hyuuga didn't even need to use their Byakugans to tell that Naruto was lying through his teeth, but unanimously and silently decided not to mention it. It seemed that Naruto simply could not tell a lie without giving it away.

"Anyway, it's nice to see that you're awake now." Hizashi said. "We were worried that you wouldn't fully recover from your injuries."

"Gomen." Naruto apologized. "I didn't mean to worry anyone." Naruto scratched the back of his head and smiled. "But I guess that I do that no matter what happens."

"N-Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked timidly garnering the attention of the blonde boy.

"Hai?"

"Why do you have the Sharingan? You aren't an Uchiha." Naruto froze at Hinata's comment. Bringing his face closer to the window, he would see the red and black refelction of a three tome Sharingan in both of his eye sockets.

Lowering his head slightly he recounted his story to his friends. His bangs hid his eyes as he began. "I don't know how many day's I've been in the hospital, but the day that I was admitted, virtually all of the Uchiha clan was killed by their head, Uchiha Fugaku."

Hinata and Neji stared at the blonde's back, to shocked to even make a sound. Naruto continued; "He had set up some sort of barrier around a bunker that a lot of nin were trying to break through, but nothing was working. Yugito-sensei, sasuke, and Kyu-chan were with me and sensei thought up a plan to use Kyu-chan's chakra to deteriorate the barrier and break through."

"It worked too well though. I punched through the barrier in seconds, and burned Fugaku's face with Kyu-chan's chakra. Before he died, he stabbed two senbon needles into my eyes, ruining them. I can only guess that I got a transplant from on of the dead Uchiha."

Silence.

XXX

Uchiha Itachi sat quietly in an ANBU holding cell. Despite the fact that he was buried in a dense honeycomb of tunnels beneth Konoha, locked in a cage, and under 24/7 guard, he was bound. The bindings in particular made all the differce in the world to Itachi, as the constantly sucked chakra away from him at alarming rates, leaving just enough chakra in him to stay conscious. It chilled him to think about the knife-edge precip he was sitting upon. Suck any more chakra out of him, and he was sure to passout or even die. Slack off the amount of chakra being removed, and it might be possible for the ANBU captain to escape. The bindings vaguely reminded him of the Snake Sannin Orochimaru's ruthless experimentation and developments.

Shivering Itachi attempted to draw his arms and legs towards his chest to conserve body heat, but the bindings prevented his movement, making his attempt in vain.

"Keep still in there, Taicho." A masked guard said firmly. "You don't want anything bad to happen, do you?"

"Hai…" Itachi replied without a single solitary drop of emotion in his voice.

Silence…

Drip…

Drip…

Drip…

Sighing mentally, Itachi settled down as best he could against the cold and slightly damp concrete floor, trying to get confortable. The hard floor crushed his elbow into the side of his rib cage painfully, but Itachi forced his mind to ignore the pain and allowed himself to drift off into dreamland.

XXX

"So you have the Sharingan via transplanted eyes from a dead Uchiha after losing your own during the massacres finale." Neji stated, trying to get a confirmation on the story he and his cousin had just heard.

"Hai." Naruto replied.

"What will this mean for the future?" Hinata asked her uncle.

"Despite the wishes of myself and Hiashi, the council of old foggies has decreed that Naruto will have to leave the Hyuuga estate if he shows to have obtained the Sharingan. Therefore, Naruto will have to move out of the estate, and get a place of his own." Hizashi answered his nieces question. "However, that doesn't mean that Naruto cannot come and visit. Hiashi made sure that the council understood that."

"Why does the council of foggies hate the Sharingan?" Naruto asked the older Hyuuga. "It's not like I know how to use it or anything."

"That's not the issue that they argue over." Hizashi replied calmly. "The council is afraid that you, and the Uchiha you associate with will steal our gentle fist taijutsu and sell it to another hidden village like Kumo, so that they could dissect it and analise it, hoping to find a weakness or flaw that will enable them to capture one of us."

"Like they tried to do with Hinata-nee-chan?" Neji asked.

"Exactly like what they tried not to long ago." Hizashi nodded.

"But Naruto-kun wouldn't do anything like that!" Hinata exclaimed.

"Yeah, there's no way Kami could convince me to do something like that." Naruto chimed in with Hinata while Neji nodded his agreement.

"We all know that, but the council will not budge on that issue, and unfortunately they have a lot of power over even the clan head." Hizashi replied the three children. He would have liked to say more, but at that time, a nurse entered the room followed by an ANBU who was standing guard outside the room.

The nurse glanced at Naruto and seeing that he was sitting upright and chatting with the Hyuugas, turned to Hizashi and demanded to know why medical staff weren't summoned with Naruto awoke. "He's just received a new set of eyes, something that has never been done before, and you aren't the least bit worried about something going wrong?"

"Gomen, Nurse-san, but I was under the impression that if it was alright to visit a patient, then they were already in the clear and on the road to recovery." Hizashi replied calmly as all Hyuuga should. "However, since that is obviously not the case in this situation, why don't you proceed to check on Naruto-kun? We shall wait outside to stay out of your way."

"Very well, Hizashi-san." The nurse replied as Hizashi sheparded Neji and Hinata out of the room into the hallway where they saw the remaining ANBU agent in the same position that he had been in when they entered.

Just as they were closing the door, they heard the sound of someone fainting and being caught. The three of them turned around too look through the half-closed door and saw the nurse splayed out, unconscious in the arms of the ANBU agent who was supervising her. Naruto just looked at her with wide, unblinking eyes.

"What?" The blonde boy asked the unconscious nurse, tiliting his head slightly to one side.

Hinata giggled at the 'cute' sight.

XXX

**Alright! I've broken 60,000 words and I'm excited!!! **

**I know that Naruto gaining the shringan is nothing new to fanfiction, nor is the way he received it however I must ask you not to flame me for unoriginality. I have a plan. Yes, a plan. I can guarentee that you all will like my idea. **

**PLEASE REVIEW!**

**I cannot fix mistakes without your input! Much appreciation for those who take to time to comment.**

**~Cyberviper42~**


	12. Chapter 12: Back to Normal:Day of Firsts

**Alright, here comes another amazing and super chapter from Cyberviper42!!! Thanks for all the reviews and comments on chapter 11, and I look forward to seeing more of those in the future. **

**This story has finally surpassed all of my other stories in terms of words, reviews, favs, and alerts. The only lacking area is the chapters. How oh how will I every get to 36+ chapters in this story…better write a lot!**

**Getting on to the story, here's chapter 12!!!**

**Chapter 12: Back to Normal At Last? The Day of Firsts**

Naruto and the masked ANBU stared at the fainted nurse…and sweatdropped. So he had the Sharingan why would that even matter? It's not like he was suddenly Sasuke's brother or anything. Nope! He was Uzumaki Naruto and he would become the strongest ninja he possible could become!

"Ano…is it possible to wake her?" Naruto asked the masked ninja.

Said ninja nodded slightly before flashing through a set of handseals and using his index and middle finger like he was checking for a pulse, tapped the nurse on the forehead. For a moment, nothing happened and Naruto took the split second to look back at his memories and recognized the seals used for the jutsu, as well as the amount of chakra that the ANBU had used for the technique.

Blinking a few times brought Naruto back to reality and he silently watched the nurse sit up from her sprawled out position on the floor. Recalling the handseals he had seen, Naruto flashed through them five times without molding his chakra. The ANBU watched him perform those tasks but didn't make any motion that he was even remotely interested in it, even though Naruto had a sneaky suspicion that the ninja would make mention of it in his report.

He had over heard ANBU talking about reports while they jumped from roof to roof during patrols with friends in the ANBU ranks. Apparenty reports were dreaded even among the highest of ninja. Every single detail had to be included. Anything left out could result in a shinobi's death down the road due to a lack of information.

By the time Naruto had mentally processed the previous two paragraphs, the Nurse was shakily on her feet amd looking at Naruto with an intent gaze. "W-Well then Uzumaki-san, I need to go report your current status to the doctor who will come and perform an examination." The nurse seemed to gain more strength as time went on. The tremors through her legs disappeared, and her balance correcting itself. Her posture was completely relaxed by the time she slid the door shut and spoke with Hizashi outside the room. Naruto didn't hear any of the words; instead all he could make out was a low murmer of voices before the distinct clicking of the nurse's shoes on the tiled hallway trailed off as she walked down the hall.

"It is considered impolite to copy someone's jutsus without their permission." The ANBU spoke in a monotone voice that defiantly belonged to a man.

"Gomen, I didn't know what was happening." Naruto replied. "I just remembered what I saw and mimicked it."

"Regardless, my first statement still stands." The ANBU declared with authority and left the room silently.

_Well that went well!_ Naruto commented sarcastically.

**Yes it did, Kit.**__The Kyuubi spoke from within her seal.

_What do you mean by that? _Naruto demanded.

**We now know that your new eyes work. **The vixen replied patiently. Her time with Naruto had taught her that the blonde boy eventually understood what you were trying to say if you simply repeated it enough times and explained yourself thuroghly.

**You have the Sharingan doujutsu, but that didn't guarentee that they would even work beyond normal eyes even if they actually worked. I had hoped that they would enable you to copy ninjutsu like the Uchiha born with the doujutsu. However, it appears to be the case that you have to remember and reflect upon what you saw in order to copy jutsus. **

_So my new eyes won't be as good as Itachi-onii-san's and Sasuke's?_ Naruto asked slightly disappointed.

**Nope! **The demon fox chirped back in a very unusual manner. **In fact, your eyes will force you to become even better than them. **

_How? _Naruto questioned. _My eyes cannot instantaneously copy a jutsu like their's! You just told me that._

**But you will learn the jutsu better than them. Instead of a weaker imitation, you will be able to perform the jutsu with the same quality as your opponent after a little training. **The fox calmly answered Naruto's question.

_What should I do about what that weird ANBU said about not copying without permission? _Naruto asked his companion.

**Talk to Itachi about that.** The Kyuubi replied. **I'm sure he would be a better person to ask that question.**

_You're right…*sigh*…like always._ Naruto sighed mentally. "I'd better get on with some recovery training." Slipping out of the hospital bed, Naruto began to stretch with the cold air nipping at him through the thin hospital clothes he had on.

XXX

Orochimaru was furious; no, he was beyond furious. Uchiha Itachi had not been expelled, nor had he been fled Konoha for his 'crimes.' He had not even been sentenced to death of imprisonment from which the snake Sannin could rescue him. His perfect plan had gone wrong at some point. Disguised as Itachi, Uchiha Fugaku sould have been systematically slaughtered the inferior Uchiha while isolating the only perfect Uchiha with the perfect eyes for him, Uchiha Itachi. With Itachi's eyes and body as his next vessel, Orochimaru would have been able to master so many Kinjutsus and made incalculable advances on his path to immortality and becoming a god among shinobi everywhere.

Instead of his plan working, Itachi had been arrested and then released a few days later. He had killed an Uchiha, but in self-defense. Not only that, but it was rumored that his Sharingan had evolved from killing his fellow clansmen. The pale-skinned Snake Sannin wanted Itachi's body even more now.

"Kabuto-kun…" The pale-faced man croaked in his silky voice.

"Hai, Orochimaru-sama?" The pre-teen boy knelt before the rogue sannin while using a single finger to adjust his glasses higher on the bridge of his nose. "What do you require?"

"It is obvious that Itachi-kun will not be here in time." Orochimaru stated before coughing violently into his elbow. "Prepare my next body. When you are done, leave for Konoha and integrate yourself into their ranks it is time to begin my next plans.

"Hai, Orochimau-sama." Kabuto flickered from the room, leaving Orochimaru to wipe the blood that he had coughed up from his clothes.

"You will pay for delaying my goals Itachi-kun." The snake vowed.

XXX

* * *

"What do you think you are doing?!!" A voice shouted at Naruto.

Pausing in mid-pushup, Naruto looked down at the Nurse and the doctor behind her, standing in the doorway looking up at them. "—9…"

"I'm doing some light recovery training." The doctor sweatdropped at the blonde boy's words.

"You consider doing nearly 2000 pushups upside on the ceiling a light recovery workout?"

"No." Naruto replied. "I also did 500 sit-ups with my legs towards the sky on the wall, and 250 lunges for each leg going up the walls."

"…"

"I was considering going up to the roof and running a few hundred laps, but I figured that you wanted me to stay in my room." Naruto continued, seemingly not seeing the shocked expressions on the nurse and doctor's faces.

"Yes…well then, can you please come and sit on the bed so we can run some tests and potentially let you leave this evening." The doctor said to the boy who was sitting on the ceiling a millisecond ago, turned to begin the tests on the blonde boy sitting on the bed.

"Th-That was fast." The nurse muttered as she began to check his blood pressure.

"Have you been training a lot?" The doctor asked trying to strike up a pleasant conversation to distract the boy from the tests they would run.

"Mmmhmm!" Naruto hummed back with a smile. "Itachi-sensei and Yugito-sensei teach me a lot of cool things."

"Oh, Like what?" The man asked. "Like how to walk on walls like ninja can?"

"Yeah, that took me a whole day to learn how to do it with my feet, doing pushups upside down took a lot longer to learn, but Itachi-sensei taught me a lot of cool jutsus to help improve my chakra control." NAruto replied.

"What did Yugito-sensei teach you?" The doctor asked while motioning for the nurse to bring him a hypodermic needle and several small containers.

"How to use Kyu-chan's power without going insane and…" Naruto trailed off

"And what?" The kind man prompted.

"…Hurting my friends and those I care about." Naruto replied in a whisper but continued in a much clearer voice. "I don't what that to happen, so I train real hard to stop that from happening."

"That's a good reason to train." The doctor said while holding up the needle and one of the small containers. "Now I'm going to need to get a small sample of your blood so we can test for other things."

"So are you going to make a cut and suck up the blood with that thing?" Naruto asked, never having seen something like the doctor held in his hand.

"You've never had your blood drawn before?" The man asked surprised.

"His record shows that during most of his previous visits to the hospital, that he was unconscious." The Nurse spoke up looking over a binder about four inches thick. On the spine of the binder Naruto saw his name written in neat handwriting.

"Yeah, I guess so." Naruto scratched the back of his head.

For the next five minutes the doctor explained patiently how blood was drawn in the conventional manner. Two hours later when the results of the bloodwork came back, a happy Naruto was free to leave the hospital.

Hizashi was standin by the main enterence waiting for him. Hinata and Neji had studies to complete and training to go through. Despite the extenuating circumstances surrounding a certain blonde in the care of the hospital, certain things could not be changed. Hinata had even resorted the 'puppy eye no jutsu,' a classified kinjutsu that would make almost every male or older person unable to refuse. It took all of her uncle's will power, pride as a Hyuuga, and straight up emotional control to keep himself from caving into her desire to stay with Naruto.

When Naruto met Hizashi, the older Hyuuga flashed through a short sequence of handseals and tapped the bridge of Naruto's nose.

"What was that for?" Naruto demanded rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Are you trying to put me back into the hospital?"

"I simply placed a Genjutsu around your eyes so that your 'new' eyes would not show." Hizashi answered Naruto's first question.

"Why do I have to have them hidden?" Naruto asked.

"Because whomever wanted all the Uchiha dead, is still out there." Hizash replied quietly. "We don't want someone to think you were an Uchiha and kill you because you have the Sharingan."

"Ooooh!" Naruto said in a loud voice that seemingly only seven-year-old could produce. "I get it!"

XXX

Sasuke stood ramrod straight next to his older brother in the Ninja Achadamy courtyard. Today was his first day at the Academy, where he would learn how to become a Konoha Shinobi. He glanced around the courtyard while the Hokage was giving his annual speech about becoming ninja. He spied several children his age, all from prominent clans on Konoha. Standing next to a nervous looking Hinata was his training partner Uzumaki Naruto. The blonde boy might not live with the Hyuuga thanks to his implanted Sharingan eyes, but he was still regarded as family by nearly all of the white-eyed clan.

Itachi placed a hand on Sasuke's shoulder as the Hokage steped from his speaking position and let the head Chuunin Instructor take over directing the new students into the classrooms. All round them; children were saying good-bye to their family members who had come to attend the opening ceremonies and following the Achademy instructors indoors. "Do not worry about anything, Sasuke." Itachi whispered into his younger brother's ear. "You will do fine and show what a true Uchiha can do."

"I will onii-san!" Sasuke vowed. "Watch over kaa-san for me and help her get better!" Their mother Uchiha Mikoto had survived the massacre somehow, but had sustained serious wounds. She was still in critical condition, however she was making good progress torwards recovery.

"I will." Itachi replied. "Now go on, Naruto and Hinata are waiting patently for you."

Sasuke nodded, turned and ran to his two friends. In the month since the Uchiha massacre, Sasuke, Naruto, and Hinata had begun to train as a team under Itachi's watchful eye. Naruto and Sasuke had needed a third member for a team, and Hinata gladly accepted when Naruto asked her to be their third member. She had improved as her self-confidence greew with the team training. She was an equal member of 'Team Kitsune', as Itachi had christened them, and she was proud of that.

They had developed roles in the team. Hinata was the scout and healer, while also a skilled close-range fighter with the Gentle Fist and her Byakugan. Naruto was the powerhouse of the team with his inhumanly large chakra supply and arsenal of destructive ninjutsu. He had little to no talent in taijutsu, genjutsu, or healing ninjutsu, but he healed quickly and was able to outlast practically anyone. Finally, Sasuke was also a powerhouse but with a more logical and stratygical application of his power than his blonde counterpart. All together, Team Kitsune was a force to be rekoned with if underestimated now. Both Itachi and Yugito got shivers when they thought about the improvement the three would make in the next four years by the time they graduated from the Academy, becoming full Ninja of Konoha. They would make an excellent first strike and first-response team.

But that is the future and what they could become; right now they were being sorted into classes that they would be in for their first year in the Academy. As chance would have it, the three of them found themselves sitting next to each other at a three-person desk in a lecture hall. Around them were roughly thirty other students and ninja hopefuls. They were seated on the left side of the room, in the second row from the front. They were next to the windows and had a reasonable view of the chalkboard that was on the front wall behind the teacher's desk, and a man wearing a Chuunin vest.

"Hello class, my name is Umino Iruka. You may call me Iruka-Sensei." He paused and looked around the room and spotted the container of the Kyuubi no Yoko, Uzumaki Naruto. The blonde demon was sitting next to the heirs of the two most prominent clans in Konoha, the Uchiha and Hyuuga. "I will be your teacher for this year, and possibly for a few years to come. I hope that all of you will try your hardest and grow to become strong Konoha ninja."

With that introductory speech given, Iruka turned his back to the class and began to draw a basic shape of a human on the chalkboard. "Does anyone know what the energy shinobi manipulate in order to perform many seemingly inhuman tasks?"

Naruto raised his hand to answer the question in half a second, but Iruka waited for several seconds before indicating that another student could answer. "Chi?"

"No that is not it…" Iruka trailed off, hoping the boy would give his name.

"Daisuke" The boy replied, earning himself a nod from Iruka.

"Would anyone else like to try?" Iruka asked. Again, Naruto raised his mand and Iruka ignored it. Sasuke raised his hand and was promptly called on.

"Ninja mold chakra to perform tasks ranging from elemental attacks to healing." Sasuke stated with absolute certainty, his training with Itachi had taught him much more than the practical skills that both he and Naruto learned.

The day went on in a similar manner as Naruto was repeatedly ignored by Iruka. When textbooks were handed out, Naruto received the most beat up copy of anyone. The book was practically fire starter with words printed on it. By the end of the day, Naruto was pretty dejected as he walked to the training grounds with Hinata and Sasuke. The three now Academy students were discussing what to do about Iruka's clearly unfair treatment of Naruto. Instead of the steryotypical teacher's pet, Naruto was the exact opposite. He was the anti-teacher's pet.

"Maybe Onii-san knows how to deal with this." Sasuke stated, trying to make Naruto feel slightly better and hopeful that the next four years of their lives would not be a living hell for Naruto.

"Maybe, but I want to get through on my own strength." Naruto replied. "I don't want to constantly ask you guys for help all the time."

"I understand Naruto-kun. But it isn't a bad thing to ask for help when you need it. In fact it shows that you realize a weakness that you have. It takes maturity to do something like that." Suddenly self conscious about her speech Hinata began to poke her pointer fingers together and looked down at her feet.

"Thank's Hinata-chan!" Naruto chirped happily. "I really needed that." His words only furthered her selfconsiousness and created several new shades of red to her cheeks.

"Do you think that Onii-san will allow us to start some D-rank missions?" Sasuke asked excitedly. He had been looking forward to starting missions as Team Kitsune ever since the Uchiha Massacre. It was his way of coping with the sudden loss of the majority of his family. He had trained his heart out trying to put the pain behind him, but it was still there. It was still trying to eat away at him from the inside. Itachi had promised to let them take a few missions once they started the academy. With the death of the Uchiha clan, many strong konoha ninja were wiped out. As such, the lower level ninja were needed to complete higher ranked missions than they were used to. The result created a loss of personel taking usually unimportant D-ranked missions. That's where team Kitsune steped up. There was no way that they could take any missions higher than D-ranked, so they would be able to take those missions without a thought of demanding higher-ranked missions like some Genin were prone to do frequently.

When the three finally arrived at the training ground they had been using since the first time Naruto met Sasuke. It had been Naruto's training ground for his demonic training under Yugito, and as such, the other shinobi of konoha had come to fear it, considering the marred grounds to be cursed by so much demonic chakra. But that suited their purposes just nicely. If no one ventured into the training ground, then they would not be bothered and interrupted while training. The moment they stoped to stand in the center of the training ground, Itachi appeared in a swirl of leaves.

"What are we going to be doing today Itachi-sensei?" Naruto asked eager to get on with the day's training.

"We are going to the Hokage's Tower to receive a mission." Itachi had to cover his ears with both hands in order to block out Naruto's shrill shout.

"YATTA!!!!" (Guess who)

Removing his hearing protection, Itachi looked at the three children in front of him before giving them a warning. "The world of shinobi is a cruel and dangerous world." He paused for dramatic affect. "One which will swallow you whole if you let it. As such, you three will be starting with the lowest level mission type, D-rank, until I, Yugito-san, and Hokage-sama are confident that you can continue on to an easier C-rank mission."

"More moving, less speech." Sasuke interrupted at Itachi's pause, pushing his older brother towards the Hokage's tower.

"What is our mission going to include Itachi-sensei?" Hinata asked softly, calming both Naruto and Sauske down for they too wanted to know the mission specs.

Holding up his hands, Itachi excused himself for not knowing. "With D-rank missions, there's no life-threatening danger involved, so it usually doesn't matter what the specs are. When I was a Genin, Hokage-sama would offer my team missions that we could either accept of decline, based on a quick summary of the specs."

"So we can choose our missions?" Hinata asked.

"To some extent, yes, when you are older and have become Genin, Chunin, and Jounin." Itachi replied. "The fact that you have only a solitary day of the Academy under your belt, regardless of your advanced abilities and skills, you may not have a choise. Hokage-sama may have already selected a mission for you and there's no way to receive another."

"Souka." Naruto muttered as he hearded Itachi's explination.

"That makes sense." Sasuke spoke up. "The fact that we have met no standard requirements, means that there's no way to compare us to the average rookie Genin."

"Quite right Sasuke-kun." Itachi smiled and ruffled Sasuke's raven hair, only making the young Uchiha flustered. He did NOT like his brother doing that in public. In private, it was a different issue, but defiantly NOT in public.

By the time the group of four arrived at the Hokage's Tower and reported to the Mission hall, all of the three younger ones had had their questions answered, and were quite content to simply make small talk amongst themselves. They received many strange looks and stares as they entered the missions hall and at one point looked like they would be turned back by a par of Chunin Guards. If it were not for the fact that it was Itachi leading three children, let alone the demon child, then they would have been sent packing back home.

As soon as Itachi opened the doors to the mission hall, two things happened. First, all conversation stopped dead in mid sentence as everyone turned to look at the strange team. Second the Hokage smiled, then put his pipe in his mouth and picked up a scroll from the table in front of him.

"Good to see you Itachi-kun." The old man said with his eyes radiating kindness.

"Team Kitsune reporting for a mission sir." Itachi replied formally but then continued in a less-formal tone. "It is good to see you as well Hokage-sama. I've been a bit too busy with these three lately."

By now the population of the room was galking at Itachi, Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata as Itachi's words hit them. A team of three barely Academy age students beginning to take missions was simply unheard of. Even the legendary Sannin had only started taking missions when they had graduated from the Academy; never even once before.

"Your mission will be to clean out the litter left by some roudy civilian teenagers in the park next to the South gate." Sarutobi stated. "From your report, this seemed like an apropriet mission to start them on Itachi-kun."

"Hai, Hokage-sama." Itachi bowed slightly, with the three children behind him imitating his action. "Thank you for the mission."

"Dismissed." Sarutobi waved them off and continued on with the seemingly endless fight that all Kage's undertake with their position…paperwork.

XXX

Although their mission was less than a glorious battle that Naruto had envisioned, their first mission left them tired and dirty. Tree walking was still relatively new to them and had yet become a completely conditioned reaction when faced with a situation that required it. As such, climbing into the highest branches of trees to retreve scraps of toilet paper that the civilians had thrown into the trees. The park wasn't all that large or anything, but it contained a lot of trees to play underneath and the civilians seemed to target only the highest branches that they could reach. All in all it was a very tough workout/mission for the threesome.

This is the reason why Team Kitsune was currently laying under the shade of a beautifully gardened maple tree in the Hyuuga Estate, resting. They were simply lying on the grass enjoying being with eachother, but not saying anything. Hinata was reading through the Academy textbook, Sasuke was playing with a Kunai he had found somewhere, and Naruto was petting a sleeping vixen that was curled on on his chest.

"This book is rubbish." Hinata stated uncharacteristically as she slammed the cover shut. "The most advanced things we'll be learning will be the henge and Bushin no jutsu."

"So much for our glorious and informative Academy days." Sasuke muttered as he grabbed the book Hinata had slammed shut and quickly flipped through the pages looking at the chapter headings and snorted in disgust when he saw Hinata was right. By the end of their second year they would only be learning the first of three basic jutsus, the henge.

Holding a full ram hand seal, Naruto poofed into an exact copy of Iruka and began to admonish a henged Kyuubi who looked like Naruto. "You cannot steal the spot light all the time and expect to get anywhere. A ninja must learn how to be patient." A quick poof of smoke later and both Naruto and the Kyuubi were back in their original positions, the fox still sleeping contently.

"You shouldn't make fun of Iruka-sensei, Naruto." Hinata admonished. "It's not nice."

"Yeah, well tell that to him!" Naruto exclaimed. "He wouldn't let me answer a single question! I even raised my hand first several times."

"Do you think it might be because of the Kyuubi?" Sasuke asked.

"Dunno, you think so?" Naruto asked.

"He's defiantly old enough to remember the attack." Hinata stated.

"He might have seen his…parents be killed…" Sasuke trailed off but got his point across.

"In any event, we defiantly need to train to get stronger." Naruto pumped his fist into the air. "If we're going to get so good that we can go on C-rank or higher missions, we'll have to train harder and harder."

"Hai, Naruto-kun." Hinata agreed. "What should we do today? I don't have enough energy to do anything but reading."

"We could go to the library and see what low level jutsus that they have there." Hinata offered.

"I guess so, but Itachi-sensei has been giving us a lot of jutsus to practice, but what could we get from the library." Naruto scratched his head.

"Medical ninjutsu." Hinata stated. "I'm not a combat type shinobi like you too are. If one of you get hurt on our missions, than I'll need to heal you."

"Not me!" Naruto chirped. "Kyu-chan can heal me no matter what. Even bad wounds are fine after a night of sleep."

"Well, there's still Sasuke and me that I'd have to heal." Hinata replied. "In any event, you two could help me look for scrolls."

"Alright, I guess that it's better than simply sitting here." Sasuke said while standing up. "You coming Naruto?"

"Yep!" Naruto replied. "Team Kitsune sticks together no matter what!"

"Thanks guys." Hinata mumbled as she stood up with Naruto.

XXX

"I suppose that it would be alright for them to do that." Sarutobi stated after a moment of consideration. "I'm just worried that it will take away from their study time."

"With all due respect, they will not learn anything for the first year or two." Itachi responded to the hokage's consern. "Hinata and Sasuke will no doubt try their hardest to ace every test and examination. Naruto on the other hand is likely to sleep through any lesson that isn't interesting or important. Hinata will make sure that he is able to keep up with Sasuke and her year wise, but Naruto will simply scrape bottom."

"You seem to understand their personalities very Itachi-kun, your skills are very sharp." The Hokage complemented. "I guess we will go touch and go in terms of missions, I will set aside a D-rank mission for them, and if they don't report to the Mission hall within an hour of dismissal from the Academy then I will pass off the missions to a Genin team."

"That sounds fair, and on the weekends we can do team training and work on the elements of being a shinobi." Itachi said thoughtfully. He had to make sure that Team Kitsune was strong enough to hold their own in the world of shinobi.

"Then it's settled, Itachi-kun." Sarutobi said with a smile. "I expect great things from Team Kitsune."

"Hai, Hokage-sama." Itachi saluted and shunshined from the room in a swirl of leaves.

XXX

Hinata led the three into the Konoha Library with a confident and calm demenior that anyone would expect from the Hyuuga clan heiress. Sasuke walked slightly in her wake with Naruto at his side. The former's demenior was the least solemn of three. Naruto walked with a cheerful, shit-eating grin plastered on his face. The Kyuubi trotted by his heels and growled at anyone who tried to approach the three with even a pitiful amount of killer intent.

Confrontation could not be avoided, however, despite the best intentions of the Kyuubi, Hinata and Sasuke. The moment Hinata set foot into the Library, the hawk-like eyes of the libriarian at the checkout desk darted to her face, and recognized her as a member of the Hyuuga clan. Sasuke was behind her, looking like a classic Uchiha and was followed by Naruto with the Kyuubi at his heels.

"Excuse me." The hawk-like librarian said as she cleared her throat so that she could speak without interruption.

"Hai?" Hinata asked.

"What is it?" Sasuke asked. His eyes narrowed slightly as he saw where the librarian was looking; directly at Naruto.

"Oh, I wasn't speaking to you Hyuuga-san, Uchiha-san. I was speaking to the _boy_ who is behind you." She said in a voice that literally dripped with honey and sweatness. The group of three paused for a second before Hinata and Sasuke continued on. Afterall, what could a thin librarian do to someone like Naruto?

The moment Hinata and Sasuke were out of sight, the librarian stepped out from behind the desk and walked over to Naruto who simply stood his ground. With a sudden movement that betrawed her feeble and helpless guise, the Librarian's steleto heels punched right through the Kyuubi's summoned form, dispersing her into a cloud of smoke. Grinning savagely, the older woman grabbed our blonde hero by his hair and slapped a hand over his mouth to muffle his shout of protest and pain. "Demons like you do not belong in this establishment I will personally anjoy—OUCH YOU BRAT! YOU BIT ME!!" Throwing Naruto to the ground, to cradle her bleeding hand, the Librarian began to curse and kick him in the ribs.

Naruto wasn't surprised by the sudden turn of events. It was like before he met Hinata and her mother, before he met his Kyu-chan. It was just one person trying to kill him after a next. No one loved him; no one cared about him.

Naruto was abruptly taken from his thoughts when the beating suddenly halted. Naruto cracked open an eye to take a quick peek at his surroundings, only to be met with a high heel to the nose breaking it and creating a fountain of blood.

"Don't you dare bleed like a human you demon!" The Librarian shrieked. "Don't you dare think that you have the right to even bleed the same color as by husband who you KILLED!" She would have continued raining blows and curses and shouts down on Naruto if it were not for the fact that at that moment the Genjutsu surrounding his eyes shattered, revealing a fully matured Sharingan.

XXX

**Alright, a little bit of a cliff hanger for all of you. For those of you who are wondering where Hinata and Sasuke are for all of this, you will find out in the next chapter.**

**I want to thank all those who've read my story faithfully and always leave me informative reviews about how I can make my story better. **

**Keep on voting for the pairings. I'm being a tad lazy right now and not posting the current standings, but I promise I will in later chapters. **

**Peace out**

**~Cyberviper42~**


	13. Chapter 13: : Getting Back Into Rhythm

**Hello everybody!!!**

**I can simply feel your desire to skip on down to the story to see what happens to Naruto, but I know that there is a part of you that simply forces you to keep on reading this Author's note.**

**You still with me?**

**Good. If you've read this far, give yourself a pat on the back and get to reading the chapter because I have no idea what to write about in this Author's note**

**READ AND REVIEW**

"Normal speech"

_Thoughts_

"**Biju speech"**

_**Biju thoughts**_

**Chapter 13: Getting Back Into Rythem**

XXX - Last Time on Together or Alone? - XXX

_Naruto was abruptly taken from his thoughts when the beating suddenly halted. Naruto cracked open an eye to take a quick peek at his surroundings, only to be met with a high heel to the nose breaking it and creating a fountain of blood._

"_Don't you dare bleed like a human you demon!" The Librarian shrieked. "Don't you dare think that you have the right to even bleed the same color as by husband who you KILLED!" She would have continued raining blows and curses and shouts down on Naruto if it were not for the fact that at that moment the Genjutsu surrounding his eyes shattered, revealing a fully matured Sharingan._

XXX

Naruto opened his eyes, the world around him was flowing with faint colors and swirls. He heard a gasp from behind him and turned to see the Librarian standing behind the checkout counter gasping at him.

"My…my Genjutsu…" She was completely astounded. During the Third Great Shinobi war, she had been Konoha's genjutsu misteress before she was wounded in the hip. Despite the great job done by Konoha's medic nins, she still carried a limp with her to this day. A token of her sacrafice in the War, it had forced her from active duty, but she still had her genjutsu. She became a librarian in Konoha's Library, looking to pass on her love of books and learning to younger generations. But then her husband died in the Kyuubi's attack. She gradually grew colder and colder, taking out her revenge on the blonde reincarnation of the Kyuubi with savage genjutsu attacks that left him open to a mob beating on several occasions.

But now all she saw before her was a blonde boy with a mature sharingan swirling in his eye sockets. "Y-You murdered them all for their eyes…?" She stammered quietly unable to comprehend the atrocities that the Kyuubi must have committed by this point in its reincarnated body.

"W-Why me?" Naruto asked no one in particular, his mind still shocked by the sudden shattering of the genjutsu. "Why does everyone see me as Kyu-chan? She didn't mean it. She lost her kits, her family, and… saw their bodies."

The hawk-nosed librarian leaned in to hear Naruto's words better.

"Why me?" Naruto whispered with tears flowing down his cheeks.

"Because you killed my husband." The Librarian replied with a cruel voice.

"Ano…" The librarian stood up sharply and glared at the small voice that interrupted her revenge, only to find Hyuuga Hinata standing with Uchiha Sasuke in front of her desk.

"Where's Naruto?" Sasuke demanded. "I'm sure that whatever you had to say to him wasn't so important that he'd simply leave us here without telling us he was going.

"Sasuke?" Naruto's voice came from behind the desk. "Hinata?"

"Ah, Naruto-kun, what are you doing back there?" Hinata asked, surprised by Naruto's proximity. For some reason when she had activated her Byakugan earlier, she hadn't seen him there…strange.

"Ah, nothing much." Naruto replied with a cheerfulness that suddenly emerged in his voice. "Librarian-san dropped something into a narrow crack and I had the right size hands to get it back out."

"Where's Kyu?" Sasuke asked, not believing Naruto's story.

"She muttered something about boring, stuffy librarys before leaving." Naruto answered as he got out from behind the desk. "But I think—"

"Naruto, your eyes!" Hinata gasped sharply seeing that the genjutsu that her uncle had placed over them had been removed.

"Damn it!" Naruto slapped his head before forming a half-ram handseal and henged himself so that it looked like his eyes were bright blue again. "I guess that this'll work for now."

"What dispersed the the genjutsu?" Sasuke asked Naruto as the three walked away from the Librarian and into the library proper. Stacks upon stacks of scrolls towered above the three Academy Students. It was easily a hundred times larger than the Hyuuga Clan's library.

"I don't know." Naruto replied. "Maybe Hizashi sneazed?" The blonde joked.

_He could have gotten me imprisoned or worse…_ The librarian thought to herself. _Any demon hell bent on revenge would have done that._ She simply stared at the space that the young blonde boy had previously occupied. _Have I been wrong?_

XXX

"Good morning class!" Iruka greated the thirty-seven and eight year old children in his classroom.

"Good morning Iruka-sensei." The class replied in unison in a listless tone.

"Well, I hope that you all had a nice night's sleep as you will all need to be wide awake today." Iruka smiled as he looked out over his class. Even Naruto received a smile. "Yesterday we looked at Chakra and how it's created. Today, We will learn some basic Taijutsu, or hand to hand combat, stances."

XXX

The next two years for Uzumaki Naruto, Hyuuga Hinata, and Uchiha Sasuke were anything but normal. Between the boring lectures in the Academy, which Naruto slept through, to the rigorous training regimines that they went through under the supervision of Uchiha Itachi and Nii Yugito, to countless missions, their lives couldn't have been more difficult. The D-rank missions after school gently transitioned into simple C-ranked missions on the weekends when they were not required to be in school. Team Kitsune was slowly making their way up the ladder in the Ninja world. As such it became neccisary for the three of them to change.

That is why three eleven-year-old children were standing infront of the Sandaime Hokage in the Missions hall dressed in customized ANBU uniforms. Red Fox, Black Fox, and White Fox stood at attention awaiting their next mission. Naruto, also known as Red Fox due to his red fox ANBU mask, looked like your standard chibi ANBU operative. His blonde hair stuck out at odd angles from behind his mask, giving him a halo affect around his head. He wore a black combat vest that vaguely looked like a Chuunin vest, but it had a tougher, more rugged look to it. On the front were extera pouches for scrolls and other odd items that shinobi frequently found themselves in need of on missions like exploding notes, chakra pills, and a vial or two of poison. The armor didn't end at his vest, his shoulders were protected by a hard, black, shell-like material that allowed him to move his arms comfortably yet reduce the risk of a lost limb. His arms were perhaps the least protected as they only sported a black and bulky sleeve over which a pair of bracers were strapped to his forearms. He wore a pair of black pants that had sections of armor sewn into it. The sections of armor were made of the same material as his vest's armor. On the side of his legs were double sets Kunai and Shuriken holsters and on his back hip were two more pouches for weapons and such.

Black Fox, a.k.a. Uchiha Sasuke, was dressed similarly to Red Fox except he dropped a single set of Kunai and Shuriken holsters and picked up a Kodachi which was sheathed over his left shoulder allowing him to draw it with his right hand and also stay out of the way.

White Fox, a.k.a. Hyuuga Hinata, stood in the middle of her two teammates wearing similar black ANBU style armor as the rest of her team. The only major difference was that her armor was less bulky and also concentrated more so to her torso than her limbs to provide extra flexibility and maneuverability needed for the Hyuuga clan's Gentle Fist taijutsu style.

They would have made a very intimidating team if it were not for the fact that none of them were even remotely close to being as tall as an adult. Despite this fact, they still packed an increadible punch for their age and size. They may only have been a three-man team, but they made up for that with their skills and teamwork. That is why they were currently waiting to receive a high C-ranked mission without Itachi present to lead the team. Sure they had completed B-rank missions, but that was under Itachi's ANBU captain leadership. He didn't hold the record for being the youngest ANBU Captain for nothing. This would be a true challenge and test of their skills.

"Your mission is to shadow Iwa Patrols that have strayed too far into the border of Hi no Kuni that we would like. If they stray too far into our territory you shall confront them and escorte them to the border. Use force only if needed. I would prefer to keep relations calm between Iwa and Konoha." Sarutobi stated to Team Kitsune.

"Hai, Hokage-sama." Three obviously young voices chorused in unison.

The old Hokage handed the mission scroll to Back Fox before dismissing the team with a nod and puff of smoke. The team disappeared in a cloud of swirling leaves, allowing the Hokage to assign another mission to Genin team. The Jounin sensei frowned as he noticed the young age of the previous team.

"Are you sure that it is wise to send such a young and inexperienced team to such a critical zone, Hokage-sama." He asked. "Iwa is always one to hold a grudge."

"True, but Team Kitsune has an unblemished track record and have never failed to go above and beyond expectations." Sarutobi replied calmly. "Despite their age, they are quite experienced. They have been on more than one A-rank mission and have come back stronger still."

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

XXX

"WOOOO HOOOO!!!"

A black blur sped through the trees around the shinobi village hidden in leaves. It was followed by two other black blurs.

"Naruto, slow down damnit!" One blur with a black ANBU style mask shouted.

"Nuh Unh!" Naruto shouted over his shoulder. "I don't wanna!" He would have continued at his reckless pace if a tree branch didn't have its say in the matter and clothes line the blonde boy.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata shouted as she saw her friend fall to the forest floor below with a sickening thud.

"Dobe, why can't we take you anywhere without you messing up?" Sasuke asked the blonde as he landed side-by-side with Hinata next to Naruto's still form.

"You should listen to Sasuke-kun when he tells you to slow down." Hinata lectured the blonde who was coming around. "Besides, we need to stick together as a team. Iwa isn't the friendliest of nations."

"Hai, hai, gomen Hinata-chan." Naruot groaned as his sat up and then got to his feet with a hand from Sasuke.

"I think this sets the injury record on a mission, dobe." Sasuke commented. "Only two minutes. You usually last a full five before tripping over a dust cloud."

"Shut up teme." Naruto growled back.

Hinata sighed before giving both boys a chakra reienforced tap to the neck to jolt them from their argument. "Now that we're away from Konoha and all together now..." Hinata glared through her mask at the red masked boy to her left. "…We can all read over the mission specs."

Sasuke wordlessly produced the mission scroll from a hidden pocket and unrolled it so that everyone could read it. "Not much else to add to what Hokage-sama said except that the Iwa patrols have been at most penetrating out territory by two kilometers (roughly 1.25 miles)."

"Doesn't sound like they are simply getting lost." Hinata commented. "Chunin and Jounin shouldn't over shoot the border by two kilometers."

"They might be looking for something, or are trying to slowly take over a small section of our territory." Naruto hypothesized. "But that doesn't really make much sense. They're risking a lot for such a small piece of land and it isn't their style to do things gradually. The Third Great Shinobi was was a blitzkrieg attack from Iwa penetratin nearly to the heart of Hi no Kuni before being repulsed."

"For someone who sleeps through the history lectures in the Academy, you know a lot." Sasuke commented while tilting his head slightly to one side. "But that doesn't matter, we've got a day to get to the border three days of patrolling and then a day to get back to Konoha."

"Hai!"

Three black blurs raced towards the Iwa/Konoha border without another word.

XXX

"Aren't you three a little small to be shinobi?" An Iwa Jounin asked mockingly. "I swear that you Konoha slime get shorter and shorter every year. Are you all knocking each other up younger?" He laughed with his three other teammates.

"Regardless of how sexually active Konoha Shinobi are, you are 1.3 kilometers inside the territory of Hi no Kuni without permission." Hinata replied coolly in her mission mode.

"We will escort you to the border where you can return to your nearest outpost for a fresh set of maps." Sasuke coldly stated in his best Itachi-imitation voice.

"Like you could even lay a finger on—" The Iwa nin didn't say anything else a chop to the back of his neck knocking him out. His remaining teammates didn't say anything else as they stared at the blonde kid that had appeared behind their comrade. It wasn't shunshin. It didn't leave any chakra or physical traces, but the brat had disappeared from his position next to his team and the re-appeared behind them.

"I think that proves we are nothing to underestimate." Naruto said with an air of authority. "Pick up your man and return to your side of the border." With that said, he reversed his previous action and appeared next to the black masked kid—no shinobi—who didn't react at all, as if it was a normal thing to teleport from one spot to another without warning.

The three remaining stone nin glanced at eachother and their downed comrade before picking him up and taking off in the direction of the border. Team Kitsune silently followed behind them. If you were not looking or expecting them to be there, you would never know that they were tem meters away; far to inside a kill radius for most shinobi's liking, hense the retreat.

XXX

"Did you see their faces when you appeared behind that guy?" Sasuke laughed. "Oh man Naruto, you don't know what you missed!"

"It was amusing to see jounin being surprised by acaemy students" Hinata allowed herself to giggle at the Iwa nins' expense.

"It's their fault for underestimating us because of our size and age." Naruto scoffed. "Man I wish that they fought, we would have been able to get our first solo jounin kills."

"Killing isn't nice Naruto-kun." Hinata admonished the blonde. "It's simply an aweful thing."

"That's why you are our medic and I'm our powerhouse, Hinata-chan." Naruto replied. "I don't feel good about doing it, but if it keeps you from being uncomfortable or sad, then I'll do it."

"You never know what tricks those Jounin might have had hidden up their sleeves." Sasuke reminded the team. "They are jounin for a reason and could probably wipe the floor with us half the time."

"Sasuke-kun is right." Hinata added her two ryo. "It's cleaner, safer, and less complicated this way. Which is the way I like it."

"But it would have been fun to at least fight with them." Naruto pouted behind his mask. "We might have been able to grab a few neat jutsus from the process." He paused before continuing. "Imagine what they'd do if they saw me do the Rasengan!"

"It is true that it would be nice to get a few more jutsus, but a Rasengan in front of Iwa nins is like saying here I am, try to gang up and kill me!" Sasuke said drawing out his words as if to appear that his was thinking.

"Sasuke-kun, Naruto-kun…" Hinata's voice dropped into a spine-chilling tone that silenced the two males in an instant.

Trying to change the subject, Naruto shouted:" Race you to the gates!" With that he and Sasuke were off like twin arrows from an archer's bow. Hinata sighed before increasing her speed as to not be left behind too far by her exuberant teammates.

XXX

Naruto was officially bored out of his mind. Classes at the Academy are _sooooo_ boring. He'd rather be chasing Tora the cat again that be sitting in a classroom listening to…to whatever it was Iruka was talking on and on about. Instead of sleeping like he wanted to, Naruto was forced on pain of being Juukened by Hinata, to stay awake all class. With nothing else to do, Naruto was slowly slipping into prankster mode. Normally he wouldn't try to use chakra strings to write funny things on the black board with a piece of chalk, or take an eraser and drop it into Iruka's hair, but he was damn tempted to do so at this very moment.

The only real reason that he didn't follow through with his prankster urges was simple. Hyuugas could see chakra and chakra strings with their Byakugan. Being the polite and responsible Heiress that Hinata was, she would have stopped Naruto in his tracks. Sighing, Naruto leaned forward stretching his back slightly, and in the same movement, placed his hands behind the student infront of him so that Iruka couln't see them, but Hinata and Sasuke could.

_I'm bored._ He hand signaled to them with the standard ANBU and signals. It was a practically perfect way to silently communicate so long as you were watching eachothers' hands.

_Tough, we all are. This shit is far to easy._ Sasuke signaled back. _Just deal with it like you normally do._

_And sleep?_ Naruto asked raising the eyebrow closest to Sasuke. _Hinata-chan would kill me with a tap of her finger if I tried to even close my eyes for more than a second._

_It's not my fault that you don't want to learn. _Hinata entered the conversation. _But if your grades don't get better you risk being held back._

_Yeah, yeah._ Naruto sacrasticaly replied. _I still got four months to do that. Why start now?_

_Fine, I'll just ask Iruka-sensei to hold you back._ Hinata slipped into her stick-up-th-ass-Hyuuga-style mode to deal with her blonde companion. _I'm sure that he'd love to hold the Demon container back and separate him from his friends…_

_Fine! _Naruto angrily signaled back. _I'll get my damn grades up…_

_W…H…I…P…P…E…D. _Sasuke signaled very slowly to Naruto, suceding in riling up the poor jinchuuriki.

_Take that back. _Naruto curled up his lip into a snarl.

_Make me._ Sasuke retorted.

_O hello Kakashi-san! I think I know who may have taken you're Icha Icha books…Yes…His name is Uchiha Sasuke._ Naruto grinned evily at Sasuke whose face had paled significantly.

_You wouldn't dare!_ Sasuke signaled hastily. _It was a MISSION for Kami-s sake!_

XXX—Flashback—XXX

"Alright team, today we have a different typ of mission." Itachi informed his chibi team, as he liked to refer to them. "As you know most missions Konoha shinobi take are assigned by the Hokage. Sometimes, however a client requests a specific ninja or team for their mission."

"Cool!" Naruto shouted. "So you mean some princess has heard of our badass skills and has hired us?"

…

"Wow." Itachi stated in a low voice. "You actually managed to guess right this time."

"It is surprising that our skills have garnered attention from those outside Konoha." Hinata stated in a sophisticated Hyuuga manner.

"What are the mission specs." Sasuke asked slowly slipping into his mission mode. He loved the thrill of fighting new opponents that pushed him to get better. You simply don't know how strong you are until you face someone who can beat you. Of course in the ninja world, anyone can beat anyone if they are crafty enough, have some sort of skill, and are severely underestimated. Although unlikely a gennin could possibly have a one in a million chace of beating a A-ranked missing nin, like oh…I don't know, maybe Zabuza.

"This is a B, boarderline A-rank mission to be done within Konoha's walls. Even so this will be a challenge for you and test your infiltration prowess." Itachi introduced the mission. "You have been hired to steal Hatake Kakashi's masks and Icha Icha series in its entirety."

"You gotta be shitting me." Naruto flatlined. "Why would we even attempt such a suicidal mission? Hatake Kakashi got his reputaion for a reason. Hell he's probably just as strong or stronger than you are Itachi-sensei."

"He also hates Kyuubi." Sasuke added. "She's the reason his sensei, the Yondaime is dead. He's got a big grudge against her."

"Where does the pervert keep these things?" Hinata asked their sensei. "It's time for some good old fashion Kunoichi revenge!"

"Ahem." Itachi cleared his voice. "I was just getting to that. Apparently Kakashi-san is the least aware when he is asleep. Rumor has it that he is a light sleeper as well, so this is the only opertunity that we will have to get close to him. He has several masks on at one time, and no one, and I mean no one has seen his face. Some people say that he was born with a mask on."

"I doubt that." Sasuke commented.

"He lives in this Jounin apartment complex." Itachi said as he pointed out the location on a map of Konoha. It was close to the Hokage Monument and the Hokage tower. "With all the high level shinobi coming and going on missions at all times of the night and day, it is fairly well patrolled. You will have to evade all of these shinobi and not rouse suspission." Itachi turned his eyes to Naruto, the team's unofficial planner and infiltration specialist. He had practice evading and losing Jounin and ANBU shinobi everytime he played a major prank. Needless to say he was quite accomplished seeing as he was caught only once one his first chase and never since.

"Since I've got the best skills for infiltrating and avoiding detection by high level shinobi, I'll be the only one to enter and exit the building and room." Naruto started to outline his plan.

"This is a team mission Naruto." Itachi reminded the blonde.

"I know." Naruto replied before continuing. "Once I'm inside, I'll use a summoning seal and scroll to get Sasuke and Hinata inside with minimal chakra usage, only enough to feel like an around the house ninjutsu, nothing big. From there, Hinata uses her Byakugan the entire time for two purposes. One; to make sure that we are not spotted by a shinobi accidentally entering the wrong apartment via window or something. Two; to quickly locate the man's porn. Sasuke will accompany Hinata and assist in the sealing of all the porn while I try to get the mask of the man and snap a picture. Since I'm the best at stealth I'll have the best chance at getting the mask from Kakashi-san. When done with our parts we'll shunshin out and directly to the Hokage's tower."

Naruto picked up a stick from the ground and swept a patch of dirt flat and began to write notes in the dirt. "In order to pull this gig off we'll need to train specifically for mission." Naruto began to really get into his planning mode. "What's our time frame for the mission, figuring in a few days of recon before the night of the raid?"

"We have two weeks." Itachi replied. "So eleven days for training."

"Great!" Naruto chirped that should be plenty of time. "Okay, first off we will all need to learn and perfect the art of surpressing our chakra to prevent detection. I assume that you know how to do this in the ANBU Itachi-sensei." Itachi gave Naruto an affirmative nod. "Okay that's step one. Step two is our enterence. I'll have some clones research how to do a summoning seal for a normal human, rather than an animal. You two will need to learn how to perform the storage sealing with minimal chakra output. Given that the man is a porn addict, we're going to have to seal up a lot. Finaly, I'll have to learn how to do a forced sleep jutsu as a last case resort if Kakashi-san wakes up while I'm in range. Next, we'll have to practice using you as the target Itachi-sensei."

"Is that all?" Sasuke asked sarcastically. The blonde had come up with an insane plan in less than a second.

"Actually, yes." Naruto retorted causeing Sasuke to sweatdrop. "In case of an abort, we'll all shunshin out as soon as the order is given. Leave behind a Kage Bunshin as a decoy to delay the target. Once out scatter out of Konoha, avoiding _everyone_." Naruto held up a finger. "One important thing is to leave no evidence of what we were coming for. His first reaction will to think that it is an assassination attempt. If that is the case we will never get another shot within a reasonable time frame. He'll just be too paranoid."

"That's a very thurogh plan Naruto." Itachi praised the blonde. "We'll work out further details a little later. Rember that while we stick to the plan, if something goes wrong, you will be treated as hostile and enemy nin. Kakashi will have no qualms maiming or killing first and asking questions later. Your safety is more important than the mission."

XXX

"I'm in prepare for the summon." Naruto whispered into his compact radio. Receiving an affermitive from both of his teammates. Naruto pulled out two fist-sized scrolls from a cheast pouch. Flashing through a sequence of twelve handseals Naruto set the scrolls down with a hard tap. Two poofs of chakra smoke later and Hinata and Sasuke were standing slightly disoriented next to a crouching Naruto. An activated Byakugan and several hand signals later, the team separated and crept along the walls of the apartment keeping their chakra surpressed to a minimum. They had to wait for Naruto to clear a number of seal traps that would launch ninjutsu attacks at those who triggered them, but it was worth the wait rather than be incinerated. So many seals protected the man's porn that Naruto simply told Hinata and Sasuke to take the whole thing and put it into one seal. He'd detrap it later in a safer location.

Naruto cautiously entered the sleeping man's bedroom and made a shadow clone. Its job was simple. To have a forced sleep ninjutsu ready incase Kakashi woke up while Naruto was getting his mask off his face. It also helped that Naruto had **Meisai Gakure no Jutsu** cast around him so that he was invisible. The blonde shinobi carefully and gently rolled the mask down Kakashi's face, revealing a second mask. Damn talk about paranoid. Behind the second mask, however, Naruto found paydirt. Kakashi's skin came to the surface for the first time in years. There was a horrible tanline running over the bridge of his nose and down to under his ears, but beside that, there was nothing for the man to hide. Sure there was the scar trailing down from his left eye socket that held the sharingan eye that made him so famous, but there was nothing else. His face might have made a female consider him extremely handsome, but Naruto didn't notice anything. Snapping several pictures with multiple cameras, Naruto quickly sealed them into scrolls that required both his particular chakra and his blood. They were quite secure and fire and water proof.

The team had decided that a picture first would be safest because it offered the least opertunity for an aborted mission. If they got the pictures but not the mask, they could still claim partial success for the mission. Naruto's blood started to pound through his heart and body as the adreniline coursed through his blood stream. This was the most difficult part of the operation.

"We're all done Naruto, clear to escape." Sasuke's voice came over Naruto's radio. The blonde's clone tapped the silent respond button to send acknoledgement, however Sasuke's voice was enough to wake the sleeping silver haired Jounin.

"Wha…Who are—unh…" The Jounin would have quickly subdued Naruto if it were not for his clone's sleep jutsu. Quickly Naruto grabbed the now soundly sleeping ninja's mask and called out over the radio.

"Mission accomplished. Leave. Target awoke but forced asleep. No I.D. positively made." With that the three young shinobi shunshined from Kakashi's apartment and raced to their safe house which was convientently the former Uchiha Clan Council's meeting room provided by Itachi.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Itachi's voice came from the shadows as the team entered the room with a poof of smoke.

"Mission accomplished. No Positive I.D. No chase." Naruto reported with a clipped and hurried tone before adding. "Porn was protected by complicated seals that will take a bit of chakra and time to deactivate. I'll need to start immediately incase there was a tracking seal placed on them."

"Alright good job team Kitsune." Itachi smiled as he emerged from the shadows and watched Hinata and Sasuke begin to abandon their stealth clothing. The sooner that they got rid of evidence that they had recently looking like the shinobi that Kakashi saw wearing, the better.

Naruto was furiously sweating over the stack of porn. The Jounin sure knew how to make seals. Made sense considering that his sensei was the best seal master to ever walk the world. NAruto was currently walking the Yondaime's footsteps. He had found a thesis about seals written by the legendary Hokage and had instantly fallen in love with the art of Fuinjutsu. For some reason the seals that everyone struggled to create made sense to the blonde. When interrogated by Itachi, Naruto simply shrugged and replied that it simply made sense. There was nothing else to say.

Ten minutes of highly chakra intensive and sensitive operations, and the books were completely safe. Not only were the seals deactivated, but they were also removied with a special seal that Naruto had developed. It simply desolved any deactivated or fading seals. Simple is the wrong word to describe the complex seal that took the better part of three months to design, test and perfect. "Done!" Naruto shouted in excitement before sealing both mask and porn into one of his specially secure scrolls.

"Good job Naruto." Itachi smiled at the blonde as he wiped sweat from his brow and quickly stripped off his stealth uniform leaving him standing in his standard ANBU uniform sans mask. Ironicaly he had a mask similar to Kakashi's that covered everything below his eyes and the bridge of his nose. "Now why don't we report to the night mission hall?"

"They are open in the middle of the night?" Sasuke asked skeptically.

"I thought that the mission hall was only opened during the day." Hinata added.

"It is, Hinata, but for high ranked missions that have to be finished as soon a ninja enters the village there is an office open to debrief them." Itachi replied. "Only ANBU and Jounin frequent it that is probably why you haven't heard of it."

XXX—Present—XXX

_I'm surprised that Kakashi hasn't reported the theft of his porn. _Hinata signaled to her two teammates.

_It's probably because he's too embarrassed to report that his home was broken into and all his porn was stolen._ Sasuke replied. _Anyone with a shread of pride would never admit that._

_It also means that his residence could have been invaded and he killed. _Naruto added. _Naturaly, a prominent shinobi like him has made many enemies and doesn't want that information to get out._

_I guess…_ Hinata trailed off as she spotted a length of chalk in trajectory with Naruto's head. It collided with Naruto's blonde mop of hair with a thunk as it hit his skull and earned him a class worth of snickers and laugh. Even Sasuke had to grin and Hinata to cover her mouth with a dainty hand.

_For someone so good a shinobi, you cannot sense a piece of chalk… _Sasuke signaled to the blonde who ignored them with a scowl in favor of listening to his teacher ask him a question.

"Naruto, would you care to tell me what the Yondaime was famous for?" Iruka asked, peeved that the blonde was sleeping through his class again. He had come to see that while the demon fox was somewhat free from its seal if the reports were correct, that it wasn't influencing the blonde's mind in any malicious way.

"YOSH!" Naruto shouted in enthusiasm. "The Yondaime Hokage was famous for many reasons. First off he was known as the Yellow Flash who killed thousands of Iwa shinobi with his Harashin no Jutsu. Second he was probably the strongest Hokage ever. Third and slightly less well known is that he was considered the best Fuinjutsu master to ever walk the world. Not even the great Jiraya of the Sannin was as good as the Yondaime." Naruto's correct and informative shut the class up.

"The Yondaime is the shinobi I will be better than! I have already created my own explosive tags and soon I'll be the best seal maker in the world!" Naruto continued his passionate rant by whipping out one of his custom explosive notes. He held it up proudly but 'accidently' ignited the fuse. Surprised, everyone immediately took cover while Naruto simply stood up dancing in place. "AAHHHH!!! What do I do?!?!"

"Throw it away you damn idiot or you be killed." Sasuke shouted but he was too late for Naruto to react. The explosive tag exploded in Naruto's hands.

XXX

**OH I am SOOOO EVIL!!!! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!**

**I was thinking about ending this chapter while I was writing Naruto speech about the Yondaime, and this just poped into my head…And I like it!!! =P**

**I hope that my explination for Naruto's Fuinjutsu abilities was fitting. Team Kitsune spends quite a bit of time in the library researching the ninja arts, so I thought that it would only be naturally that they'd run into a Fuinjutsu basics book at some point.**

**Please Review and wait for the next chapter to find out about Naruto's fate at the hands…or rather seals of the Explosive Tag!**

**Peace out!**

**~CyberViper42~**


	14. Chapter 14: Here Kitty Kitty

**Hello Everyone!!!!!**

**Welcome to another exciting chapter of Together or Alone? I hope that you all are waiting eagerly to find out what happens to the Academy students.**

**Paring Votes: **

**READ AND REVIEW**

"Normal speech"

_Thoughts_

"**Biju speech"**

_**Biju thoughts**_

**Chapter 14: Here Kitty, Kitty**

XXX

Last time on Together or Alone…

XXX

"_The Yondaime is the shinobi I will be better than! I have already created my own explosive tags and soon I'll be the best seal maker in the world!" Naruto continued his passionate rant by whipping out one of his custom explosive notes. He held it up proudly but 'accidently' ignited the fuse. Surprised, everyone immediately took cover while Naruto simply stood up dancing in place. "AAHHHH!!! What do I do?!?!"_

"_Throw it away you damn idiot or you be killed." Sasuke shouted but he was too late for Naruto to react. The explosive tag exploded in Naruto's hands._

XXX

Anko expertly threw the dango stick at the wooden wall to her left. It was the final piece for her stylized symbol of Konoha. Dango was truly a gift from the gods. It not only tasted good, but it went well with sake, and that was a big plus in the mind of the purple-haired Kunoichi. Sake was also a gift from the gods themselves. It helped ease the nerves after a long or stressful mission, or help make you forget your sorrows if only for a little while.

Standing up, she slapped a few ryos on the counter to cover her tab for the dango binge. She plucked the final piece dango and plopped the delectable food into her mouth and walked off down the street. She was in a good mood. Dango did that to her. She used the stick from her final piece of dango to clean her teeth. With a carefree attitude she walked down the street towards the Hokage's tower to see if there were any missions that she could do.

Suddenly she heard massive explosion and saw a huge mushroom cloud of smoke rising from the west wall. The force of the shockwave was enough to knock her down despite the great distance between her and the explosion. Glass in windows and vases were shattered by it. Holy shit! Some one must have detonated a bomb! When Anko's inner ear had finaly recovered, allowing the jounin kunoichi to get up and rush towards the place the civilians were fleeing from. They were following emergency situation protocal by retreating into the caves beneath the Hokage monument. It was their shelter until the shinobi population of Konoha dealt with the emergency. Jumping to the rooftops Anko gaped at what she saw on the horizon.

Kumo…

XXX

_POOF!_

Naruto began to hack and cough as smoke filled his lungs. He quickly dropped to the floor as Iruka took control of the class.

"Everyone make their way to the door along the floor. " His voice was urgent but not paniced. The class quickly made their way to the door on their hands and knees avoiding the smoke that filled the upper part of the room. Quickly Iruka ran through the smoke and opened the windows to allow the smoke to go outside and not into the rest of the building after building up in the classroom. As soon as the Chuunin instructor reached the windows, the shockwave of the explosion shattered the windows and left a large wound across the bridge of his nose. Stumbling backwards he cried out in pain as more shards imbedded themselves into his torso.

At this point the children were screaming all throughout the academy building. They had never been involved in anything like war. Everyone but Naruto, Hinata, and Sasuke followed their senseis into the underground escape routes that lead to the shelters under the Hokage's monument. Instead, Team Kitsune made their way to an inner room where there weren't any broken windows and produced storage scrolls from their pockets. It was something that they never went anywhere without. Simultaneously they unrolled the scrolls and bit their fingers and smeared their blood over fifteen different seals.

Out of each seal came a shadow clone holding a piece of their ANBU style armor, and lastly their masks. The clones simply helped the original quickly strap the armor over their civilian clothes and prepare them for battle. Sasuke strapped on his Kodachi and Kunai and shuriken holsters while Hinata and Naruto who didn't have a personalized weapon, strapped on double the normal amount of Kunai and shuriken holsters. They slipped on their masks and secured them before shunshining out of the building and taking off along the rooftops to the Hokage tower.

XXX

Kurenai and Anko whipped through Kumo nin like a hot knofe through butter. Kurenai's inhuman abilities with genjutsu immobilized platoons of enemy shinobi at once while Anko simply slid her Kunai across their throats. They never knew what had killed them. The best friends ducked into a partially destroyed house to take a quick breather. The Kumo shinobi seemed to multiply. No matter how many were killed another took his place in a matter of minutes.

"I can't believe that Kumo's attacking us like this." Kurenai commented to her jounin friend. A chuunin herself, Kurenai had been friends with Anko since they were in the academy, before Anko had been taken to be Orochimaru's apprentice. Before she had been robbed of her memories and her reputation.

Anko looked out the window and swore. The bodies that they had left out on the street had attracted the attention of a Jounin platoon. The way their Hia-ate's (sp?) were worn and very much need of replacement. They were seasoned and not going to fall for any of Kurenai's advanced genjutsus, no matter how praised her genius in the subject was. There was a fundemental difference between a platoon of battle-hardened and experienced Jounin against a Jounin and third year Chuunin. Especially if the latter were Kunoichi and even worse the chuunin was a support type and thus weak in a close quarters battle that would erupt in such an environment.

Using basic hand signals Anko alerted Kurenai to their plight. Their only real hope was that somehow the jounin wouldn't sense their presence and pass on, letting them regroup with other Konoha shinobi. But alas Anko and Kurenai's luck turned south when a Kumo Jounin landed next to the platoon and motioned towards the girl's hiding spot inside the building. Without a second thought two Jounin from the platoon leapt to deal with the hidden enemy.

They were just about to reach the door and just a second before Anko would have engaged, when they fell dead with a single kunai lodged in the back of their skulls. From her hiding spot Anko couldn't see who had thrown the Kunai, but the Kumo shinobi in the street did.

"Shit…ANBU!" The Jounin who had regrouped with the platoon shouted. Aparently he was some sort of leader because on his order to flee, the two other Kumo shinobi turned tail and scattered. A momoment later three small ANBU took off after them.

Anko narrowed her eyes at the sight of the short ANBU. Uchihia Itachi was the youngest ANBU in Konoha's special forces yet these three looked even shorter. Something was amis.

"We gotta move Kur-chan." Anko said looking back at her comrade and friend. "ANBU are taking care of our little problem so we'd better take our chance and follow them for back-up."

"Hai!" Kurenai followed her technically superior's order and followed Anko out of the building and onto the roof tops looking for both Kumo and Konoha shinobi to either kill or team up with. Suddenly the three-man ANBU team Anko had seen earlier appeared at their sides, keeping pace.

"Report." The one with the Red Kitsune mask ordered.

"Fifteen dead Chuunin to Jounin range between us." Anko answered before falling silent for a minute. "Who the hell are you three anyway?" She demanded. "Aren't ANBU teams supposed to at least be in their teens and in four man platoons?"

"Typically yes," The Black Kitsune masked replied. "However, we are not typical, nor are we ANBU."

"Your masks?" Kurenai asked, already suspicious of the three due to Anko's questioning.

"To hide our identities." A female voice replied from behind the White Kitsune mask. "Just like any mask is worn for."

"Right then." Anko continued. "Who the hell are you if you aren't in ANBU when your uniform says otherwise."

"We are Team Kitsune." The Red Kitsune masked shinobi answered. "I'd be surprised if you haven't at least heard of us Anko-san."

From behind Anko, Kurenai gasped in surprise. "I believe that they are telling the truth Anko-chan." She stated. "I've heard of the mission record, and it seems that these three have displayed equivilant skills."

"Sorry, but I haven't heard of them." Anko grunted as she hurled a kunai into the cheast of a Kumo chuunin in an ally that they were briefly passing over."

"Hey!" The Red Kitsune masked shinobi shouted at Anko. "You stole my kill!" His only reply was Anko's tounge.

"Your name wasn't on him dobe." The Black Kitsune masked shinobi retorted. _His _only reply was the Red Kitsune's middle finger.

"Cut it out." The White Kitsune spoke for the second time. "Three targets ahead eleven o'clock approaching with Chuunin chakra levels at best."

"Their mine." The Red Kitsune growled while looking at Anko who shrugged nonchalantly. The Red Kitsune disappeared from sight in a burst of speed that shocked both shinobi. A jaw-rattling explosion later and he was back looking no worse for the wear.

"Did you have to punch them all at full strength?" The Black Kitsune asked. Anko and Kurenai's jaw dropped. That was a punch? "A simple slit of the throat would be more affective."

"Yeah, Yeah…" The returning shiobi retorted with a shooing wave of his hand. "I just didn't want any blood to get on my uniform. It takes way to much effort to get blood out of clothing."

Three roofs ahead of them an ANBU in a weasel mask landed and turned to face the five shinobi approaching.

"Hello Itachi-san." The White Kitsune greated the ANBU captain. "Where is your squad?"

"Hello, you little foxes." Itachi replied. "I see you've found two beautiful princesses to save." Anko's lip twitched as her hand inched for a Kunai.

"They couldn't handle the five Kumo jounin approaching their position." The Black Kitsune replied. "I also activated my eyes when the Jounin I was chasing after they split surprised me with an ambush."

"Congradulations." Itachi replied. "Now I need you three to come with me. We've going to assault their command center to cut off the flow of intel Kumo shinobi are getting somehow and they are effectively blocking us from completeing a full counter-attack."

"What about your squad?" The White Kitsune asked again.

"Dead. Protecting civilians from ambush."

"Oh…" The masked kunoichi replied. "Sorry…"

"If you don't mind my asking, but how the hell can you expect to take on Kumo H.Q. with ony this squad?" Anko asked.

"Won't you need some back up?" Kurenai asked. "Early intel reports that there's at least fifty Chuunin and jounin in reserve protecting their H.Q."

"Only fifty?" The Black Kitsune asked. "Oh well, if they really want to hand their H.Q. over to us on a silver platter, I guess that I cannot be helped."

"I call the Jounin." The Red Kitsune shouted out raising a hand and flinging a Kunai inbetween the eyes of a Kumo ANBU that carelessly gave his position away by leaping off to go report the attack on their H.Q.

"You cannot kill them all." The White Kitsune stated in a soft voice. Anko couldn't get over the fact that someone who could kill so mercilessly and witness the deaths of others coule still have an innocent sounding voice. The fact that the Read Kitsune was eager to go kill unknown numbers of Jounin really unsettled the hardened Kunoichi's mind. Considering that she was a member of the ANBU's tourture and interrogation squad, made this more surprising to both Anko and Kurenai, who read the purple haired kunoichi like a book. "We're a team and have to each stay within our roles if we're going to succeed. Doing something unpredictable could lead to casualties on our side."

"Let's move out team." Itachi turned to leap off the roof, but Anko called out.

"Even you will need us as back up, Itachi." She said. "We'll come with you."

"Suit yourself, but don't expect too much action." Itachi replied before leaping towards the site of the original explosion that had torn through Konoha's walls. He was followed by five blurs—three short two taller.

XXX

"Might I inquire as to why the hidden shinobi village of lightening is attacking konoha?" Hurizen Sarutobi asked two platoons of Kumo ANBU standing before him. While they tried to appear intimidating, Sarutobi wasn't the Sandaime hokage and professor of Shinobi for nothing. He was able to see underneath the underneath. In reality they were scared shitless at the thought of fighting a Kage, one who had been in power for longer than they had been alive. Sure the man in front of them was old, but his age and experience, along with his massive jutsu arsenal made him one of the most deadly shinobi on the face of the earth.

"We are here for our little kitten." Replied the lead ANBU captian. "You would be smart to hand her over and surrender while your village is still intact."

"I see." Sarutobi said with a sigh. "Well I cannot simply have you waltz around Konoha doing as you please."

"Excelent!"

Walking from his office, Sarutobi puffed away on his pipe leaving behind eight dead Kumo ANBU.

XXX

Itachi singled a stop. Before them stretched a fairly large camp. The shear fact that there were so many high level ninja in the camp made them confident that a sentry was unneccesary. Oh how wrong they were.

"Kurenai, Anko, remain here providing support genjutsu and call out enemy advances or retreats." Itachi handed the pair a set of radios. "Our ANBU masks are equipped with radios that are currently keyed into this frequency and encryption."

"Red you take center and provide diversion while White and Black take the north west side of camp, and I take the south west." Itachi layed out a quick strategy. "Concentrate the enemy into the center and then you'll take them all out in one strike Red."

"So I can use the cannon?" The Red Kitsune asked.

"Anything you want to use to take them out." Itachi replied. "Even your cannon. Any questions?...Move out."

Anko and Kurenai blinked and then the four masked shinobi were gone without a trace. "Damn those brats are good." Anko said slightly in awe.

"Y-Yeah." Kurenai stammered. She might have been older than Anko by a few years, but she hadn't seen the type of action her Jounin friend had. Anko had trained under Orochimaru, arguably the most vicious shinobi to ever come from Konoha. She undoubtebly done and seen horrible things and for her to compliment the three short shinobi, they had to be the real deal. "I'll take position two hundred meters to the north, you circle around to the other side of the camp to get a better view of that side."

"Sure!" Anko grinned sadistically and took off through the trees disctretly making her way through the trees. She had barely arrived opposite the camp from Kurenai when sounds of fighting rose from the Red Kitsune's sector. "Damn, for him to hold off all those shinobi by himself…He's got to be a monster."

Less than a minute later, sounds of fighting were heard from Itachi's and White and Black Kitsune's sector.

"Keep pressing them towards the middle of the camp." Kurenai's voice came through the radio and into the team's ears. "I have a passive genjutsu set up there to slightly disrupt their depth perception. It's not noticeable right away and if they try to dispel a genjutsu, a second, overlapping genjutsu will engage and continue to disrupt their depth perception."

"Wow." White's voice came over the radio. "That's a sweet genjutsu."

"Less talking more killing people." Black's gruff voice added to the airwaves silencing everyone.

"Enemy is entirely in the center of the camp." Anko reported five minutes later. "Alright Red let's see what you are made of…" She trailed off as she felt demonic chakra spiking within the camp. It built wildly for ten seconds before a huge beam of pure black and purple demonic chakra blasted away the center of the camp, incinerating everyone and everything in its path. A minute of silence on all parts existed as everyone tried to take in the reality of what just happened.

"Holy shit…" Anko swore summing up the feelings of everyone Konoha ninja in the surrounding area.

XXX

Nii Yugito was not having a fun day. First, someone threw water on her to wake her up. Ice cold water to be exact. That certain blonde someone would die at a later date by her claw, but right now she had to evade several kunai directed at her vital points. Twisting around in ways a normal human even a flexible kunoichi shouldn't, Yugito used a Kunai to defelct two kunai before catching another two on her fingertips. Twirling the captured kunai around her fingers, she flung them back at their owners.

Yugito sidestepped a chuunin's sword slash. He had swung wildly and projected his movements betraying his recent promotion to the chuunin rank. Without hesitation she planted a kunai in his neck, severing his spinal chord. Pulling two more kunai from her holsters, she looked around her to reorient herself with the surrounding terrain.

There were two more kumo nin warily watching her from the rooftop of a half destroyed building. From their young faces, low chakra levels, and frightened expressions, Yugito could tell that they were mere genin.

"If you want to live I suggest that you surrender yourselves to konoha shinobi." Yugito spoke in their direction.

"Aren't you a Kumo shinobi?" One of the boys asked. He had seen her in Kumo wearing a Kumo hi-ate.

"Hai." Yugito answered. "I was at one point, but I was captured during a mission."

"And they let you move about freely now?" The second Gennin asked.

"I agreed to teach a powerful kid in exchange for my freedom." Yugito answered truthfully. "He, ironically was my mission target."

"And you haven't tried to take him back to Kumo?" The first genin asked accusingly. "Surely you have had chances to take him by now."

"True, I have had openings like that, but I wouln't get far with him." Yugito replied. "He has the protection of the Hyuuga and Uchiha clan.

"How do you think that Konoha would treat us if we gave ourselves up?" The second genin asked.

"Since you two are young and only genin, the Hokage would more than likely allow you to become konoha shinobi within a few months." Yugito answered. "It would be that or prision, and if you defected, you would be killed the second you were caught."

"You're shitting me." The genin replied in unison.

"I am not." Yugito retorted, her patience beginning to wear thin. Suddenly she threw a kunai into a jounin's throat. He had been sneeking up behind her, and her smooth, spinning-while-dropping-to-the-ground move caught him off guard. "The only reason I am not an official Konoha shinobi right now is because I am still in a probation period and I am teaching every single day."

"A surge of demonic chakra washed over konoha and its occupants. Shinobi on both sides of the struggle froze at its touch. The two genin before yugito nearly soiled their pants, and Yugito had to give the green rookies credit for not doing so. The amount of chakra that was washing over Konoha was nothing to sneeze at, and it was more than likely their first exposure to the vile energy.

"What was that?" The first genin asked fearfully.

"My student." Yugito replied. "Judging by the direction and location of my intell, he just wiped out your H.Q. I am a jounin and you two are mere genin. You have no where to go."

The two genin looked at eachother and then wordlessly threw down their kunai holsters and shuriken pouches to Yugito's feet. Their Kumo forehead protectors followed a moment later.

XXX

Naruto stared at his burnt right forearm. His armored glove and bracer had been incinerated by the intence chakra output that his attack required. His shirt was burnt from the wrist to halfway between his elbow and shoulder. His skin was blackened and when he tried to form a fist with his right hand, he fell to one knee in a spasm of pain. Gritting his teeth he forced himself to his feet and looked at the damage he had dealt. Everything in front of him was black, charred ash. A mere meter from the crater he was standing in, the ground the ground rock was still glowing red with heat. Sighing Naruto sat down in the crater he had made charging his attack. When one compressed chakra to a near solid state, it became super dense and super heavy. Even though Naruto's attack started the size of a pea, it was still enough to devistate the clearing and headquarters.

Hinata was the first at Naruto's side when Itachi had given the 'all clear' signal to the team. Itachi noted that Sasuke was wounded across the small of his back and was favoring his left leg in a limp. He emerged from the forest not far from where Hinata had, indicating that they had escaped from the blonde's blast together. Kurenai and Anko emerged relatively unharmed. Anko had minor slash wounds on her arms, and a few links of her chainmail shirt were disconnected. Kurenai's chakra levels were low, but that was quickly corrected by popping a chakra replenishment pill down her throat.

"Everyone accounted for?" Itachi asked redundantly as everyone came together where Naruto was sitting.

"Hardy har har." Sasuke retorted sarcastically and then sobered up to the situation at hand. "All present Itachi-sensei. Two wounded badly, one with minor cuts, three fatigued but no wounds."

"You think I'm fatiqued?" Itachi demanded.

"Yes, your chakra levels are half their maximum." Sasuke replied calmly.

Itachi sighed and quickly got into his ANBU captain roll. "Hinata, status of our parimeter."

"All clear two hundred meters radius." Hinata replied before returning to applying a balm to Naruto's arm. Her medicinal ninjutsu repetoir didn't have jutsus to treat chakra-baked flesh. Naruto's arm was more like a burnt chicken leg than anything else, and he would be lucky to regain full use of his arm for a long time even with his healing abilities. The pale-eyed girl wrapped a long bandage around Naruto's arm, binding the healing balm tightly to Naruto's skin. "Red-san," Hinata almost called Naruto by his name and thus revealing his identity, but managed to correct herself without a slip of the tongue. "You will need to get medical treatment as soon as possible from the field medics or better yet, the hospital itself. That arm is in bad shape."

"Thank you White-san." Naruto replied warmly as Hinata finished tieing off the bandage.

Hinata nodded her head before using a healing ninjutsu to heal Anko's cuts. In a jounin level battle even the slightest hinderence could spell death, so Hinata was first going to heal Anko then move on to Sasuke. The black-masked boy's wounds were nothing to laugh at. Peeling away the blood-drenched cloth surrounding his wound on his back, Hinata stifled a gasp at the sight of nearly a three centimeter, half-meter long slice through all of Sasuke's muscles. The weapon had dangerously passed close to his spinal cord. It had bounced off a rib and been deflected just over the vaunerable nerves.

"I won't be able to heal all this black-san." Hinata appologised. "I can stop the bleeding and begin the healing process, but I'll be out of commission after that. I've already had too many soldier pills."

"Do what you can to make sure he survives, and I'll radio in a med squad along with renforcements." Itachi replied and turned away to use his comm unit in somewhat more privacy. "Don't use all your chakra though. Make sure you can still scan the area."

"Hai!" Hinata replied as she flipped through a series of handseals and started to produce a healing green chakra over Sasuke's back.

"I'm going to go refill on kunai and shuriken." Naruto said as he stood up. "Anyone want more?"

Anko grinned sadistically as she pulled out a kunai and licked its blade. "Sure…" She drew out the r in a voice that made Naruto want to shiver in his clothes.

"O-Okay…" Naruto shunshined off to a less melted area of the camp to loot the bodies of kumo shinobi for useful items.

Hinata consentrated on Sasuke's back wound and slowly closed it up, but couldn't heal it in its entirety. If she still had a full chakra reservoir it wouldn't have been too much of a problem, but after several jounin and Chuunin level opponents, she had little left to heal Sasuke and have enough left over to scan the area with her Byakugan.

"Soooo…" Anko tried to start a conversation. "How long have you been working together?"

"What do you mean?" Hinata asked.

"As a team." Anko replied. "All of you are wearing Kistune masks and you are quite familiar with Itachi-san. I heard that you calling him sensei."

"Itachi-sensei has taught us how to operate within the limits of our positions in Konoha's service." Hinata replied in a military crispness that was sooo against her personality. "I was under the impression that all masked recruits were given tutelage under senior shinobi to 'learn the ropes' so to speak."

"That's the case for rookie genin, not ANBU." Kurenai replied. "ANBU are the crème de la crème (A/N: French expression meaning the best of the best.) They don't need to be shown the ropes of the masked divisions, they already know them. At worst they are given basic guidelines that they are to follow."

"So, you're an ANBU imposter…" Anko concluded.

Hinata stopped healing Sasuke's wounds due to her dwindling chakra reserves and focused on her conversation with the two older kunoichi. "We were given these masks by the Hokage. Don't ask anymore questions."

"Listen," Kurenai silenced Anko to try to get more information from Hinata through another approach. "You are increadibly young. Your voice and small size betrays this."

"True." Hinata admitted. "That was an unavoidable consequence of starting our careers so soon. Do not underestimate us because of that."

"We know all about being underestimated as Kunoichi, being young must be similar." Kurenai replied trying to make a connection with the girl.

"I can see the similarities." Sasuke said startling everyone. He had lost consciousness during his treatment at Hinata's hands, and his insertion of the kunoichi's conversation startled them. "White-san's growth in the last two years transformed her from a weak child into a powerful shinobi." He paused a moment to sit up and then continued. "I can see that she is not someone to overlook despite her age and gender."

"Looks like you are done for now white-san." Itachi stated as he walked back to the group. "I've contacted ANBU command and we are ordered to hold this position until reenforcements and then return to Konoha for medical treatement. Your injuries will have to wait a minute Black-san."

"That's fine I'll make it." Sasuke replied. "White-san healed me enough for now."

"White-san, what's the status of our surroundings?" Itachi asked Hinata.

Hinata formed the ram seal and then reported no one approaching.

"It's kinda odd that no one is coming to investigate the blast, especially Kumo shinobi." Naruto made his presence known. "Considering that the blast came from their HQ, you'd think that even one of them would fall back to investigate."

"You have a valid point Red-san." Itachi agreed with the masked shinobi. "It's somewhat unsettling, I'll admit."

"Either they are too scared to send anyone or come themselves, or they are all dead or incapacitated." Anko said rather nonchalantly.

"I find it hard to believe that a force the size that we encountered in Konoha and here would be neutralized so quickly." Sasuke spoke up. "Most of Kumo's shinobi must have been involved to have mustered this number."

"Kumo was known to throw moderately trained shinobi into combat during the Third Great Shinobi War." Hianta stated as if reciting from a textbook. "The shinobi that we encountered today didn't seem to match evenly against equally ranked Konoha shinobi. Their numbers didn't even match up with Konoha's. The entire attack doesn't make any sense. They don't have anything to gain from such an attack."

"Maybe this is a retaliatory attack for the 'confiscation' of their Jinchuuriki of the Nibi no yoko." Naruto stated. "The jinchuuriki, Nii Yugito, was captured during a failed infiltration of the Hyuuga compound to kidnap the head family's eldest daughter Hinata. Kumo wanted the Byakugan for themselves."

"It is possible, I guess." Anko said thinking. "But hasn't it been two years since she was captured? That seems like a long time to wait for a retaliatory attack."

"Bare in mind that to organize something of this magnitude with so many shinobi involved, takes time." Itachi spoke up. "Regardless of their reasons, we've got to follow orders. Spread out and take up a defensive position around this camp and let no one except friendlies through."

It took a moment for the group to gather themselves and their supplies. Naruto dispersed the kunai and shuriken that he had scavenged to everyone.

"Twenty inbound shinobi, bearing 038." Hinata's voice over the com-units alerted everyone in the small group.

"Ranks and affiliation?" Itachi querried.

"17 Chuunin chakra signatures, three Jounin." Hinata replied. "Kumo."

"ETA?" (A/N: Estimated Time of Arrival)

"Thirty seconds and closing fast." Hinata replied.

"White-san, assume support position behind us facing bearing 038." Itachi ordered the Konoha Shinobi into action. "This is going to be tough." _Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata are next to useless due to their injuries. I'm somewhat low on chakra. Kurenai and myself are genjutsu users, leaving Anko the only close-quarters fighter we have._

_Fuck._

XXX

**Well, that's a little cliffhanger for you, but that's what I do. (hey that rhymes)**

**About Kurenai's rank as a chuunin. When the canon opens, kurenai is a rookie jounin, meaning it was her first year as a jounin. I may or may not have her become a jounin at rookie 9's genin graduation, but I've got a few ideas.**

**Any questions, queries, comments? I'd love to hear them so**

**READ AND REVIEW!!!**

**Peace**

**~Cyberviper42~**


	15. Chapter 15

**And hello again from Cyberviper42!!!**

**And to those who think that I've over powered the gang, I haven't. Itachi was their age when he was at least a jounin, bordering ANBU operative. While other characters may think that the three are in the ANBU corps because of their masks, they aren't. They are not official shinobi of Konoha. **

**Here's chapter 15**

**READ AND REVIEW!!!**

Chapter 15: Reconstruction

XXX

"White-san, assume support position behind us facing bearing 038." Itachi ordered the Konoha Shinobi into action. "This is going to be tough." _Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata are next to useless due to their injuries. I'm somewhat low on chakra. Kurenai and myself are genjutsu users, leaving Anko the only close-quarters fighter we have._

_Fuck._

XXX

Kunai and Shuriken announced the Kumo shinobi's arrival to the remains of their command center. Itachi simply used his own kunai to deflect the incoming projectiles, while everyone else dodged them. Anko literally twisted around them without moving her feet. Her body seemed to sway like the snakes that she was known for summoning. Itachi spared his team a glance to check on their conditions. Sasuke was trying to snipe the Kumo shinobi with the kunai and shuriken he had gotten from Naruto. Sasuke was using his newly activated sharingan to assist with his accuracy, and in the first thirty seconds of the engagement, had netted two kills and a wounded, which Itachi finished off with a kunai of his own. Naruto was applying his kage kunai no jutsu to several of Sasuke's kunai, to create metal rainstorms over the enemy positions.

Naruto and Sasuke were together and backing eachother up. Unable to use his dominant hand for a taijutsu attack or kunai and shuriken throw, Naruto was relying on ninjutsu that he could use without hand seals to cover and help Sasuke's physical attacks. While still able to use ninjutsu, Sasuke sought to save his precious chakra for his new sharingan eyes. They were constantly tugging at his chakra reserves, and siphoning an annoyingly large amount for each second they were activated.

Hinata was with Kurenai behind Sasuke and Naruto but on a different side of the camp. Using her Byakugan to detect the enemy's movements and radioing them in, she was relying on Kurenai's genjutsi and kunai to protect her. She had little chakra left which disadvantaged her because the Gentle Fist revolved around chakra attacks in syncronization with pnysical ones.

To his right, aproximatly thrity meters away, Anko was engaging her share of opponents with hebi based ninjutsu, poisons, and taijutsu. Itachi was using subtler attacks against his opponents with discrete genjutsus to disrupt and confuse the Kumo shinobi's senses and instincts and following up with energy efficient kunai slashes to the throat.

They were brutal, they were cruel, they were ruthless, and they were shinobi.

XXX

"Weasel…Weasel do you copy? This is ANBU Unit Delta. Do you copy?"

"'Bout damn time you guys got here." Itachi's voice grunted over the headsets of the inbound Konoha ANBU Unit. "We've got three disabled and we're surrounded by twenty Kumo Chuunin and Jounin. I got a Jounin and Chuunin supporting me."

"Roger that." The captain of the ANBU Unit Delta replied. "ETA thirty seconds."

"Roger."

XXX

Konoha ANBU Unit Delta exploded from the treetops and pounced on the Kumo shinobi surrounding Itachi and Anko. They netted six kills in the first ten seconds of engagement as Kumo Chuunin and Jounin fell to their standard issue short swords, kunai and shuriken. Compared to a platoon of Konoha's elite shinobi, the regulars from Kumo didn't stand a chance and fled. With a single hand motion the ANBU wearing an otter mask sent two of his squad to pursue and eliminate the Kumo shinobi that they chaced off.

"This is their H.Q.?" The bear masked subordinate asked incredulously. "Doesn't look like much."

"That's because of Red Kitsune." Itachi pointed behind him with a gesture of his hand. "Team Kitsune is here but in need of relief and medical attention.

"I see." The otter ANBU captain muttered. "I have another squad coming in a minute or two. When they come, take everyone here and report back to Konoha."

"Understood." Itachi nodded.

"There are still numerous Kumo shinobi amoung the village proper and the surounding land." The otter masked shinobi warned. "Be careful when returning. An ambush is likely."

"Thanks." Itachi gathered his impropto team and relayed the news.

"At last!" Naruto groaned as he stretched with his good arm. "I'd thought we'd never get back in time to have ramen tonight!"

"Why should we eat that salty filth?" Sasuke demanded. "Our stomachs can't stomach the quantities in which you eat that mess."

"Hey! Take that back!" Naruto shouted in a most un-shinobi manner. "Ramen is Kami's gift to us mortals!"

"Shut up!" Hinata bopped the two on the top of their heads with enough force to send them crashing face first into the ground. "Sheesh. It's like you two never grow up! You haven't changed since we were six!"

"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Kami has no wrath like an angry kunoichi." Itachi murmered loud enough for the three kunoichi to hear him.

"You got that right!" Anko chirped as she placed a hand on Hinata's shoulder. "Me and Whitie are going to be good friends. I know it."

"You'd better not corrupt her Anko." Kurenai muttered as she massaged her temples trying to assuage the headache that was the result of trying to imagine the white kitsune masked kunoichi dressed like Anko.

"What do you mean?" Anko innocently asked her female companion. "What could you possible mean?"

Kurenai didn't answer, instead Itachi interviened. "It would be scandalous for her to emulate you in any aspect of your personality and attire."

"Oh?" Anko grinned at the information that Itachi had given her. She came from a higher class than the average shinobi. Most likely from a major clan and given her age, it narrowed the targets down considerably.

_Is he trying to tell us who these three are without actually telling us?_ Kurenai pondered. Like the Uchiha ANBU captaon, she specialized in genjutsu. It was a highly underestimated field as the most critical aspects were subtlely disguised. To be good in genjutsu and survive in the shinobi world, one had to be increadibly smart and agile in their thinking. It would be only natural for Itachi to drop subtle and almost meaningless hints in his speech if he was trying to tell them without telling them. But she might have misinterpreted what he was saying and he really wasn't trying to give them any information. There were simply too many unknowns and not enough information to make even an educated guess. Like a Sudoku puzzle that went from one to a million.

"Just get ready to move out." Itachi ordered as he sat down and to all appearences, fell asleap." It was only when Naruto tried to poke Itachi's mask that the older male's hand shot out and stopped the blonde, betraying is appearance of being asleap. "Getting ready does not involve poking me." Naruto pouted.

Fifteen minutes later, ANBU Unit Gamma landed in the clearing that used to house the Kumo H.Q. Smoke was still rising from the ruins of the tents that Naruto had destroyed with his attack. One of them whistled at the sight. "Damn they didn't leave much for us to recover did they?"

"That isn't our concern." The captain stated in a monotone. He was rumored to have been in the Ne division before it was officially terminated after the Kyuubi attack. "We are simply responsible for the recovery of any documents that we can find so that experts can find any information."

"Hai!"

With that, the ANBU unit spread out and began to seal any papers from the wrecked tents into scrolls that they produced from pockets on their vests. The Gamma unit captain walked over to where Itachi and the Otter masked Delta Unit captain were standing and made his report. "Gamma unit on site retrieving documentation and evidence."

"Finally." Itachi muttered. "We've been waiting for you. My team will return to Konoha now that you are here. We'll send some regulars to take over guard duty."

"Understood."

With that, Itachi signaled his team and they set off for Konoha, keeping alert in case of a Kumo ambush. It never hurt to be too careful. Bounding from tree limb to tree limb, the six shinobi made it back to Konoha in ten minutes with a cautous pace. They saw no signs of any enemy shinobi. It was like in the fifteen minutes that it took for the data recovery squad to get to the clearing, all the Kumo shinobi disappeared from Konoha's territory as if they were never there…Except for all the dead bodies and the damage done to the structures in Konoha and the surrounding forests.

They made their way to the Hokage's tower trying to find someone in charge to report to. Itach let Sasuke and Naruto go to the hospital to receive treatment for their injuries. The sooner they were back up to full strength, the faster Konoha could recover. Although they were young, Team Kitsune brought lots of business to Konoha in the form of mission requests. Their name, not their identities, had spread through the world, increasing their renown and notoriety. Knowing that Konoha had a new and powerful team of shinobi, naturally attracked the attention of the rich and powerful who wanted the best money could buy in order to ensure their protection. Naturally the rich and powerful were willing to part with sizable chunks of cash to get this level of service.

XXX

Naruto and Sasuke stumbled across the threshold of the hospital supporting eachother. Their young bodies, trained as they were, were simply not ready to go toe to toe with chuunin and jounin level shinobi all day long. Maybe when they had a couple more years of intense training under their belts when they graduated the academy, they would be able to fight on that level, but currently all they wanted was a nice relaxing hospital bed to rest in and to wake up in the morning with their wounds bandaged and ready to leave soon afterwards.

XXX

The remaining member of Team Kitsune walked next to her masked sensei and the Kunoichi duo. They were on their way to the Hokage's tower to report their movements and actions during the invasion attempt. They were stopped at the enterence by a full squad of ANBU who checked for some evidence that they were Kumo shinobi under disguise and were trying to assassinate the Hokage or someone important. A moment later they were escorted through the halls of the Hokage's tower to the Mission hall where they met the Sandaime Hokage. He was putting his stragitical mind to work listening to incoming reports and then issuing orders to best deal with the situation.

"Ah, Itachi-kun, how has your squad done today?" Sarutobi asked.

"My ANBU squad is K.I.A." Itachi said with little emotion in this voice. "After they died, I met up with Team Kitsune, Anko-san and Kurenai-san. Together we took out the Kumo H.Q. I personally counted thirty bodies in the aftermath. There seemed to be more than that in the beginning, so perhaps some fled, but we held that position until relieved by two ANBU units."

"I take it that the huge demonic chakra surge was Red Kitsune-san." Sarutobi puffed on his pipe.

"Hai." Hinata spoke up. "It effectively took him out of the battle that followed. Black-san also received wounds that restricted his ability to fight. Immediately after the initial assault, I treated Red and Black's wounds as best I could with the time and chakra that I had available."

"Twenty Chuunin and Jounin attacked us once we destroyed their H.Q. Black and Red were not healed completely, so they teamed up using Black's weaponry precision and Red's shadow replication techniques to spam attacks and slowed the enemy column enough to enable the rest of our team to terminate them."

"Thank you White-chan." Sarutobi smiled and then turned to Itachi. "I think it's time to end this trial."

"Huh?" Naruto nearly shouted. "What do you mean trial?" Suddeny going from the hospital to the Hokage's office tends to startle people. Hinata was similarly surprised as she watched Kurenai and Anko fade from view as if they had never been there.

"During the massacre of my family I unlocked the next stage of the sharingan, the Mangekyou Sharingan." Itachi answered without emotion. "Through training, it allows me to use Amaterasu, the fires of the sun goddess, Tsukuyomi, a genjutsu that allows me to control everything, including time, and Susanoo, makes a spector around me that protects me from physical attacks, it can also hit people and seal them into an inescapable genjutsu for all time." Itachi's voice had remained in a subdued monotone through the entirety of his lecture/speech.

"THAT'S SO COOL!" Naruto shouted and then turned to Sasuke. "You've got to get those eyes—"

"NO!" Itachi's uncharacharistic outburst startled everyone, inclusing Sarutobi. "In order to obtain these eyes, you have to kill your best friend." Naruto and Sasuke looked ashamed of themselves, while Hinata became sad for Itachi. On top of seeing his whole family killed, he also killed his best friend, and was left with a reminder for the rest of his life. "There is also a downside to these eyes as well."

"With all power come consequences." Sarutobi wisely muttered into his pipe.

"The more I use these eyes, the worse my vision becomes. Eventually I will go blind from using them, however there is a cure." Itachi stated stolicly.

"Well let's go get that cure!" Naruto shouted.

"I have to take the eyes of another Mangekyou Sharingan user for my own." Itachi's words shocked the young shinobis to their cores.

"S-so you'd have to take Sasuke-kun's eyes." Hinata hit the nail on its head. "A-and only if he killed one of us to obtain them."

"Hai…" The five shinobi trailed off into silence as the conversation died at the aweful realization of the Mangekyou Sharingan.

"Ano…" Naruto broke the silence after a minute. "Is this that Tsukuyomi thingie that you mentioned earlier?

"Yes it is." Itachi replied.

"So if it's a genjutsu, why am I being affected and unable to dispel it with my own sharingan?" Naruto asked. "Seeing as I can't deactivate mine, they've been running the whole time and I couldn't even tell that this was a genjutsu."

"The Mangekyou is more powerful than the three tomoe Sharingan." Itachi replied. "I believe that even a Mangekyou sharingan might have trouble dispelling this illusion."

"Okay…" Naruto sighed.

"So did you capture everyone in this illusion of yours, or just us four?" Sasuke asked. "I assume that the reason Hokage-sama hasn't faded like Anko-san and Kurenai-san were because they were just a part of this illusion."

"Hai, I only did it to you four as a test." Itachi replied, "Right now, barely a second has passed in the real world, and you are still listening to Iruka-san's lectures. Lucky you."

"So will my sharingan be activated in the real world, or is it just a part of this illusion?" Sasuke asked.

"Let's find out shall we?" Itachi and the world around the three students swirled away and in popped Iruka's lecture.

XXX—Real World—XXX

Iruka was surprised when the three of his best students simultaneously and rather unexpectedly fell asleap on him. He expected such behavior from Naruto, but not from Hinata or Sasuke. Those two were the top of the class. "Umm…would someone please check on them?" He instantly regretted those words as the entire female populase of the room, sans Hinata, rushed to the 'aid' of their precious Sasuke-kun. Unfortunatly for said boy, the 'attentions' of the girls turned into a tug of war over Sasuke's body between roughly fifteen ten-year-old girls. It was painful to just watch. Naruto was also abused by the girls, but not by their attention, but rather their inattention. The jostling of Sasuke had knocked the blonde to the floor, which acturally woke the blonde, but he was quickly knocked unconscious again as a storm of feet and falling girls slammed him around the floor. The only one of the trio, who managed to stay unscathed through the entire ordeal, was Hinata. She was closest to the windows and had slumped in that direction when she lost consciousness in her chair. The commotion continued for a minute until Iruka regained his senses and quieted the class with the use of his patented demon head no jutsu. During his manhandling—or rather girlhandling—Sasuke had painfully regained consiousness.

"Sasuke, please help me take Hinata-chan and Naruto-kun to the nurses office." Iruka wearily sighed inwardly as he picked up Naruto and started for the door, leaving a slightly blushing Sasuke to pick up Hinata bridal style and follow him.

Walking out of the room, Sasuke could feel the weak Killing Intent rolling off of every female student in the classroom. At least to him it was weak, but he was used to fighting off Jounin level shinobi. The male academy students had different opinions and were shivering in their seats at the feel of the KI coming off of Sasuke's fangirls. The KI didn't abate when Sasuke shut the door behind him.

"Damn it!" Sakura shouted. "That hussy is totally faking it!"

"If she thinks she can get Sasuke-kun by playing weak, she's wrong!" Ino added her thoughts to the shouts of all the fangirls.

"I'll get Sasuke-kun no matter what!"

"No you won't I will!"

"What are you talking about? Sasuke-kun loves me, he just is to shy to admit it."

"THAT'S A LIE!" The rest of the girls shouted and the female half of the room degenerated into an all-out brawl. Fortunatly for the nurse, an all out brawl for the girls was the equivilant to a few slaps and scratches.

XXX

**I'm sorry that everone had to wait so long for such a short chapter. I got myself a nasty case of writers block trying to figure out how to weave the Kumo invasion mini arc into the story plot seemelessly and with the least problems. Ironically the solution came to me while in the shower. (Does all great thinking happen in the shower?) **

**Anyway, I haven't getten into thinking about how I'm going to work the pairings, but I'm about ninety percent sure that it will be Naruto and Kurenai and possibly more for the lucky blonde, I'm open to suggestions about how to get them together. Right now I'm thinking of a mental and physical age jump using a time space ninjutsu to make the age difference a little less awekward, but I dunno. I defiantly want to know what peoples' ideas are for this, seeing as I am pretty stuck. I'll try to post the final tally of the poll in the next chapter. **

**AS OF NOW THE PAIRING POLL IS CLOSED FOR NARUTO. OTHER CHARACTERS ARE STILL OPEN…thank you.**

**Till next time!**

**~Cyberviper42~**


	16. Chapter 16: Team 7

**And welcome to the world famous story Together or Alone! In this chapter we have exciting upsets and unscene twists…I hope you'll like them.**

**Any way, I have a question to all those versed in japanesse out there.**

**Is it Kyuubi no Kitusne or Kyuubi Kitsune. **

**Your answer will not affect the way this is written in the story as I feel that Kyuubi no Kitsune flows off the tounge better and as such will be used, but I want to know the grammatically correct way.**

**To those of you who have reviewed telling me that it is Kyuubi Kitusne, thank you for your advice, however there are thousands of people reading this story and other Naruto fanfiction. One voice with an answer out of thousands is not the best ratio to base your judgements on, and I would like more people to tell me what they think/know.**

**Thank you**

**With that out of the way…onward to chapter 16!!!**

Chapter 16: Team 7

XXX

Two years. It had been two years since the slaughter of the Uchiha clan, and a lot had happened since then. Team Kitsune had steadily grown in their prowess and renown. Konoha's Kitsunes had become the nightmare of Konoha's enemies, accepting missions that would have been suicidal for most shinobi, Team Kitsune had returned without a single major injury. Sure they had cuts and scrapes, and the occasional broken bone, but their lives had never been in danger due to their injuries. They had had exclusive doging training from one a fine Jounin by the name of Anko. The sadistic kunoichi had taken it upon herself to ambush and attempt to kill all three members of Team Kitsune whenever and wherever she could. She had yet to discover the true identities of Team Kitsune, so while not in uniform they were relatively safe.

Naruto had continued to work with Nii Yugito to control the Kyuubi's chakra. Naruto couldn't summon her in the academy, or even take her to school. It would create too much suspicion. He did however, summon her during missions. She made Team Kitsune feared above all other konoha teams. Even the Inoshikachoza combination didn't have the same level of respect on the battle field. With her at the head of their formation, they struck fear and terror into the hearts of their enemies. They were ruthless, vicious, and always victorious. It was hard to believe that kids like Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata were the most feared Konoha shinobi, even though they were not even genin. Their lives were somewhat a mix due to the dual lives they led. Attending the academy at day and taking missions at night and on the weekends, every moment of their lives was taken up by being or becoming a shinobi.

Speaking of becoming shinobi.

"I will now announce the results of the final exam!" Iruka smiled at his class. They had grown up a lot in the four years that he had been with them, and he was proud of them. "At the top of the class and the Rookie of the Year, Uchiha Sasuke!" This was enough for several of the more annoying fangirls to swoon over the raven-haired boy and screech out his name like a pack of banshees. Iruka had been pleasantly surprised when Sasuke scored an absolute hundred precent in every category of the exam. It was an unpresidented feat that even the prodigy Uchiha Itachi didn't acomplish.

"Next we have Hyuuga Hinata, the top kunoichi of this class." Iruka smile slipped as the rest of the female population of the room tried to emit enough KI to smother the pale eyed girl, but it was pitiful. Even to Iruka, it was pathetic. The only two to even come close to a respectable amount of KI were Sakura and Ino. Iruka listed off the order of the class, ending with Uzumaki Naruto. It was sad to see the blonde at the bottom of his class. He earned near perfect scores in the taijutsu, kunai, and shuriken sections, but had failed the genjutsu, and written portions of the exam. The only thing that let him pass was his usage of the Kage Bunshin no jutsu, a jounin level ninjutsu. It wasn't too surprising for Iruka if he sat down and thought about it. Naruto had ememse chakra reserves; it was only natural due to his tennent, but no matter what he did the normal bunshin would never work for him. It would be natural to learn how to do it with close relations with both the Hyuuga and Uchiha clans.

"I will now announce the teams. You will meet with your Jounin senseis after lunch." Iruka glanced down at the list and Naruto tuned him out until he heard his name. "Team 7, under Hatake Kakashi, Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke," Naruto and Sasuke smirked and looked at Hinata, expecting the obvious third teammate. "And Hanaro Sakura."

"NANI!" Naruto's voice rang out, nearly deafening the the entire class. "Why am I with her!" Naruto pointed at the pink haired girl. "Sasuke and I would work better with Hinata!"

"That is true, Naruto-kun, however you have to learn how to work with other people that you may not be comfortable with." Iruka replied. "It is the life of a shinobi. You might not like it, but you will learn."

"Fine." A grumpy Sasuke grunted as he slouched into his seat. He was officially not happy seeing as he had to spend the majority of his time with one of the worst fangirls in existence. Next to worthless as a shinobi, and no where remotely near the level of Hinata or Naruto, Sakura was literally the opposite of what he needed as a teammate. In a world of death and danger, a rookie was not the type of person that Sasuke or Naruto for that matter, wanted to trust their lives to.

"True love prevails!!!" Sakura shouted, not hearing Naruto or Sasuke. "Take that Ino-pig!"

Ino didn't reply, only humphed and folded her arms across her chest. Iruka continued to list off the teams. "Team 8, under Yuhri Kurenai, Hyuuga Hinata, Aburame Shino, Inuzaka Kiba." Hinata was almost on the verge of tears. All the planning through the academy to be on the same team as Sasuka and Naruto was officially shot to the ground, riddled with kunai, and then detonated with hundreds of exploding tags. "Team 10, seeing as Team 9 from last year is still together, under Sarutobi Asuma, Yamaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Chozi." Now Ino's shot of being with Sasuke was destroyed, she was stuck with the fatass and lazy bum of the class.

"Like I said earlier, your Jounin Senseis will be here after lunch, so return promptly and try not to make bad first impressions." Iruka smiled. "It has been an honor to be your sensei and as Shinobi of Konoha, I expect you to go far and become strong for all those who depend on you." With those words he left the room and the students.

"Hatake Kakashi, the copy ninja." Naruto groaned as the three friends found a quiet place to have lunch. "He's going to be_ hours _late to everything! And he was the victim of one of our missions. You remember?"

"Yeah, we stole all his porn and got a picture of his face without that damned mask on." Sasuke smirked. "I still can't believe how easy it was to pull off that mission. It was almost like we were being helped by some one without our knowledge, something that is hard to do."

"At least you two are together, and we aren't all split up." Hinata murmered, clearly saddened by the team arrangements. "I guess Iruka-sensei was right in that we all need to know how to work with other people, we've only done things together for the last three years."

"But Hinata-chan, we should all be on a team." Naruto replied. "Remember how well we worked when we took down Kakashi?" Hinata nodded. "That sort of team work is hard to get, and only comes through time and practice. We're all going to have a hard time with theses new teams, but you'll have the easiest time."

"Huh?" Hinata and Sasuke gave Naruto a confused look.

"You will be in a new situation with no resembelence of the past comforts to keep you from learning how to cope with the situation." Naruto answered the looks. "Sasuke and I are going to have a fifth wheel on our team, and not know how to deal with the situation. Sakura is someone we have not experience wormking with, and although we'll be able to work well enough together, we're always going to be expecting you to be there when you are not and as you are not there, we will fail."

"I guess that's true." Sasuke admitted. Naruto could go from dumb blonde to genius in a matter of seconds. "Lucky Hinata."

"Thank you." Hinata smiled. She knew that their main goal was to cheer her up, but Naruto's words contained an element of truth in them, and because of that, she was all the more cheered up.

"No problem!" Naruto gave her a trademark foxy grin.

"Sure." Sasuke gave her a small, but genuine smile.

Naruto suddenly formed the fox seal and out from the seal popped the Kyuubi in the form of a small fox. She immidiatly jumped up to Naruto's neck and curled up, her head under his ear, in the perfect spot to have a quiet conversation or nip him if he did something wrong. While a stealtheier conversation could have been held from within her seal, having two pairs of eyes were always forth more than the risk of being caught.

"**So what do you want?" **She asked. **"It's not offen that you summon me here in the academy."** She glanced at Naruto's lunch and spied a tastey looking rice ball. **"Food."**

"Fine, but no more." Naruto picked up the rice ball and took a bite before handing it to his shoulder. For a fox her size, the rice ball disappeared impossibly fast, but that was of little consequence to the three. She was the Kyuubi and she was abnormal in every sense of the word, even among shinobi, where the unusual was the usual. "You think it would be possible to set something up where Hinata would be able to summon you while a long distance away?"

"**You mean like a summoning contract?"** Kyuubi asked and Naruto nodded. **"I guess I could modify the kitsune summoning contract to only work for me."**

"NANI! There's a Kitsune summoning contract and you didn't tell me about it?" Naruto yelled.

"Quiet down dobe!" Sasuke grabbed the blonde and put a hand over his mouth. "Do you want everyone in Konoha to know about this? Quiet down!"

"Sorry." Naruto muttered to Sasuke and then glared daggers at the fox on his shoulder. "Explain."

"**The Kitsune contract is something which no mortal could ever utilize." **The Kyuubi replied. **"It summons's the tailed kitsune's from even the depths of the Shinigami's belly. As such, they are nearly impossible to control unless you are of the highest class of tailed kitsune, me. I am the only nine-tailed demon, and because of that I can control and use the kitsune contract if needed, which is rare."** She paused and looked at the three friends. **"Eventually, Naruto-kun will be able to wield enough of my strength to use the contract, but that isn't for years to come. Right now, the only thing stopping him from using it is his lack of power which is needed to control the summons. Now, if I were to modify the contract so it only summons me, I should be able to come in some form. The shinigami's seal is new to me, so I might only be able to come as a partial chakra being."**

"But even that will be enough for most situations." Hinata said in an even voice. "I can't imagine a situation where I'll need to have the full power of the Nine-tails at my disposal."

"**In the near future, I wouldn't be surprised if you did need me."** The Kyuubi gave a tooth-filled grin. **"You're about to step into a world where your missions aren't filtered by the Sandaime. I believe that he wasn't giving you the hardest missions that someone with your experience and skill would be taking if they were of the normal age."**

"That's true." Sasuke added. "You can tell that our team is abnormal in every way. We're young; we're taking missions that most chuunin and newer jounin wouldn't take; and we have a biju as part of our team."

"Yup we're pretty abnormal!" Naruto grinned. He looked like he was going to continue, but he stopped and then signaled to everyone else through hand signals. 'Sakura's here…be careful.'

'We want to keep this a secret?' Hinata signaled back.

'We've kept this a secret from everyone in the entire world.' Sasuke signaled back with a sweatdrop on the back of his head anime style.

"Sasuke-kun!!!" Sakura's pink hair was visable from nearly twenty meters away in thick foliage. As soon as she was clear of the plant life, she swivled her head looking for her Sasuke-kun, but there was no one in the clearing. "Sasuke-kun!!! Where are you?" She continued to walk through the clearing and into the woods on the other side of the clearing.

As soon as she was gone, Sasuke, Hinata and Naruto dropped down out of the trees. "It's amazing how when you're looking for someone most civilians and genin won't look up." Sasuke stared at the spot where Sakura disappeared into the woods.

"I can't help but feel sorry for you two." Hinata shook her head. You can see her coming from over twenty five meters out. You don't even have to attempt to sense her chakra, you can hear her crunching through the underbrush like she was a toddler stomping as she walks."

"Rub it in why don't you?" Sasuke muttered as they turned to head to the classroom, lunch being almost over.

The Kyuubi jumped down from Naruto's shoulders and walked next to the blond, stretching her legs and they walked. Before leaving the forest, the Kyuubi wormed her way up Naruto's shirt until her head was just poking through his collar. (Think like how Akamaru stays in Naruto's shirt.) "You know that people are going to ask questions." Hinata said with a small smile at the 'cute' sight.

"So?" Naruto replied. "I'll just say that I want to train her to help me track better."

"So you want to copy Kiba and Akamaru?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto shock his head. "No. I'll just say that I wan't someone fast enough to carry messages, and with a good enough nose to track. In addition, she'll be able to help with recon and as a fox, will be fairly inconspicuous while the forest, or where normal foxes are found."

"That's a good plan, but people who have seen her with Team Kitsune will also ask questions." Sasuke warned.

"Ahh who cares?" Naruto retorted. "We've been hiding our skills long enough."

"That is true." Hinata agreed with the hyperactive blonde. "I have always wanted to be recognized as being strong. We've dealt with years of torture in the academy being 'taught' the basics. I for one do not see when flower arranging will prove to be useful for being a serious shinobi."

Naruto snickered at her words. She had gone on daily rants during their second year when all the girls had been taken out of taijutsu practice and sent into the fields around Konoha to learn how to make bouquets. Hinata had been pissed of at being forced to take the sissy class instead of being active in the boy's class. She had tried to transfer out of the flower class and into the taijutsu class, but Iruka had denied her. Despite the fact that she was the heiress of Konoha's most powerful clan, she wasn't allowed to take the boy's class. Iruka had told her to seek taijutsu training from her clan, rather than take the boy's class. There was nothing Hinata could do about it and unwillingly sat through the pointless classes.

During their blast to the past, they had made their way from the place they ate to the classroom to wait for their Jounin senseis. Unfortunatly for Sasuke, they had to break up into teams and sit together. This involved Sakura hanging on Sasuke's arm, as if trying to tear it out of its socket. Of course Sasuke didn't willingly allow this, and made several attempts to detatch the crazed kunoichi from his arm, but he failed miserably until he, Naruto and Sakura were left alone in the room. Hatake Kakashi was late.

XXX

"I've been assigned another team sensei." Kakashi stood infront of the dark stone memorial in training groud seven. "I've got a kid that looks exactly like you but with wiskers. He's the one you sealed the Kyuubi into. I don't know why he looks like you, or why you sealed the Kyuubi into him, but I'm sure that you had good reasons to do so. You weren't the type of man to act irrationally and on impulse."

Kakashi paused before addressing another name carved into the stone. "Obito, I've got one of the last Uchiha on this team as well. Maybe you are cousins or something, I don't know. I guess I was assigned this team because of the eye you gave me. I don't know why Itachi couldn't have taken this team. Maybe it's because he's Sasuke's brother or that he's needed in the ANBU."

"Sensei, I don't think that they will pass. You taught us that teamwork was the most important thing, and Obit, you taught me that your comrades are more important that the mission." Kakashi's good eye shed a single tear, which was quickly wiped away by the seasoned veteran. "The bell test has ripped apart every team that didn't have a shred of teamwork in them. I don't think that this team is any different. Naruto and Sasuke seem to be friends to the end, but their third friend wasn't placed with them, Sakura was. They will probably ignore her or get mad at her for taking their friend's place. Sakura on paper is a smart girl, but from what Sarutobi-sama has showed all of us potential sensies, she's a fangirl through and through, and Sasuke's her target. I couldn't get a more dysfunctional team."

XXX

"Sakura-san, get off my arm." Sasuke ordered the pink haired kunoichi for what felt like the millionth time in the last hour alone. They had been waiting for their Jounin sensei, Hatake Kakashi for the last three hours. "I'm not especially pleased with having you on my team when for the last four years, Naruto, Hinata-chan and I have been planning to be together and rigging our test scores to do so."

"NANI?" Sakura shouted, nearly deafening Sasuke and Naruto. "Sasuke-kun why would you lower your scores to be with some bimbo pale-eyed girl!"

"He didn't lower his scores, I did." Naruto said coldly.

"No you didn't Naruto no Baka!" Sakura tried to punch the blond boy, but Naruto deflected her punch into the hard table, causing her to bruise her knuckles.

"Sakura-san, Naruto did lower his scores. Why do you think that he scored the barest of a minimum on every single exam to pass to the next grade?" Sasuke told Sakura. "He scored exactly 60 percent on everything, even the final exam! You think that I lowered my scores? I've gotten 100 precent on every single exam, test, quiz, everything."

"So?" Sakura replied. "What does scoring 100 on everthing have to do with you lowering your scores to be with _her_!"

"A 100 is the highest you can score Sakura-san." Naruto retorted with a snort of laughter. "You can't score any higher. For the second smartest girl in our class you don't pick up on stuff do you?"

Naruto would have continued, but Sakura's fist connected with his face at speeds that he wasn't predicting from the girl. "SHUT UP NARUTO NO BAKA!!!"

XXX

Out in the hall, two floors down, Hatake Kakashi had to cover his ears to avoid the rupture of his eardrums. "Fuck, why me Kami-sama, why me?" He winced as he removed his hands from his ears. "No one on earth should be permitted to be that loud."

XXX

Inside Naruto's shirt, Kyuubi's summoned body couldn't stand the sound levels and promptly disappeared. **"Fuck that bitch is loud!"** She roared from inside Naruto's mind.

'Here here.' Naruto groaned mentally as he picked himself up from the floor. While he should have been able to dodge any punch thrown his direction by Sakura, he had underestimated just how fast she could lash out when angered. The age-old lesson of 'Do not underestimate your opponent,' played through his mind.

"Oi, oi!" A new voice came from the doorway, catching Sakura off guard. Having felt his chakra since he entered the building, Naruto and Sasuke were not so surprised to see none other than the silver-haired Jounin Hatake Kakashi. "Teammates shouldn't fight."

"YOU'RE LATE!!!!" Sakura screeched, forcing the males in the room to cover their ears, but no matter how fast they were; the damage to their eardrums had already been dealt by the time their hands covered their ears.

Wincing, Kakashi galared at the three genin. "My first impression of you is that I hate your guts. Meet me on the roof in five minutes." With that, Kakashi disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"Kage bunshin?" Naruto looked inquizitavely at Sasuke.

Sasuke shook his head. "No, his chakra level was easily jounin when he walked in here. He might have just shunshinned out without the leaves."

"What are you two talking about?" Sakura demanded.

"Whether that was a clone or the real person." Naruto replied.

"Of course it was the real Kakashi-sensei." Sakura screeched back. "Clones aren't solid!"

"Kage bunshin no jutsu." Naruto formed the cross seal for the jutsu and one clone popped into existence. It slapped Sakura on the shoulder and then held her arm. With the solid contact, the clone shunshinned Sakura to the roof of the academy while, Naruto and Sasuke shunshinned up to the roof on their own.

XXX

Kakashi sat on the roof enjojying his book. He had five minutes until the annoying one arrived and destroyed his ear drums again, but for now those five minutes would be peaceful…

"DAMNIT NARUTO!!!!" Sakura shouted.

…or not.

"What?" Naruto replied. "I simply got you to the roof as fast as possible."

"But what the fuck was that?" Sakura retorted. "One minute I'm standing in the classroom, the next I'm on the roof and there are LEAVES in my HAIR!!"

"It's called shunshin." Sasuke said as he and the real Naruto landed on the roof.

"EH?" Sakura shouted in an unlady-like manner. "Naruto, why are you over there and over here? You can't be in two places at once!"

"It's a solid clone." Sasuke said in a tired tone of voice. "Now, Kakashi-sensei, what are we here for?"

"Straight to the point I see." Kakashi sighed and put away his porn. "You," he pointed to the three young shinobi, "are going to be under my instruction. But before we can do any missions, we have to do a few things."

"Like introducing ourselves." Naruto stated, anticipating where Kakashi was going with his speech.

"Sure we can start with that." Kakashi shrugged. "You pinky."

"Ano, what should we say?" Sakura asked.

"Likes, dislikes, hobbies, things like that…" Kakashi trailed off waving his book in a circle as if trying to get his message across better somehow.

"Can you go first so we can get an idea about what to say?" Sakura asked.

"Fine." Kakashi shut his book with a snap and looked at his new students with his single eye. "I'm Hatake Kakashi, I have a few likes and dislikes, my hobbies…well, I have a dream…okay go pinky."

"I'm Hanaro Sakura," The pink haired girl stated. "I like…" She looked at Sasuke and squealed, causing Naruto and Sasuke to roll their eyes. "My dream is…" She squealed "My hobbie is…" She looked at Sasuke with a furtive glance that was all to obvious to the highly trained shinobi around her…and she squealed again."

"And your dislikes?" Kakashi prompted.

"HINATA and NARUTO!" She shouted. Kakashi swaetdropped. This team was going to last long.

"You, emo." Kakashi pointed at Sasuke.

"I'm Uchiha Sasuke, I have a few likes. I dislike fangirls and people who are weak yet think they are the best in the world." He paused for a minute to think. "My hobbies are training and going on missions with Naruto and Hinata-chan. I have a dream…no ambition to kill the man who killed almost all of my clan."

'Okay…' Kakashi thought after hearing Sasuke's introduction. "You, blondie."

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage!" Naruto said with more enthusiasm than would be expected from someone in the situation. "I like ramen, Hinata-chan, Sasuke, Jiji, Itachi-sensei…and lots of other things. I dislike not being on Hinata-chan's team, Orochimaru-teme…umm and lots of other things. My hobbies are training, going on missions with Sasuke and Hinata-chan, eating ramen, and kicking ass!" Naruto pumped his hand in the air as he finished his statement. "My dream is to help Sasuke kill Orochimaru-teme, learn to use my bloodline properly, umm…I dunno, become the strongest in Konoha."

A gust of wind blew several leaves past the four sitting on the academy roof.

"Well, with that said, we'll get started." Kakashi pulled out three slips of paper from his utility pouch and handed one to each of his new students. "Tomorrow you are going to take the test to see if you are ready to become genin."

"But sensei, we already took that test and got these!" Sakura interrupted Kakashi, pointing to her forehead protector which was not on her forehead, but used as a hair band.

"Yes, you took a test to see you had the qualifications of being a genin, but this will test to see if you are capable of performing at a genin level." Kakashi replied. "We're going to do team survival training. Meet me at the training ground listed on the paper at 0500 hours. Bring any and all shinobi equipment that you have and wish to use." With those words his shunshinned away, leaving the three academy graduates sitting on the roof. A second later and two more shunshins, Sakura was the only one left on the roof.

XXX

Sasuke and Naruto arrived in the Uchiha compound within a second of eachother and from their first landing sight, walked to the head family's estate. Ever since the Hyuuga council had forced Hiashi's hand to prohibit Naruto from living in the Hyuuga estate with his Sharingan eyes, the blonde had been living with Sasuke and his family in the Uchihia head family's house. Although now the entire Uchiha clan could be counted on two hands, the mansion had enough space for them all to live comfortably. It was easier to accommodate everyone if they all lived together, and it prevented anyone from getting lonely. In an entire clan estate that once held hundreds of Uchiha, less than ten remained. It gave an eery feel to walk through it even in the day time, Kami save your soul if you tried to do so in the dead of night. It acted as sort of a natural barrier between them and any would-be thieves. The bloodstains were firmly soaked into the wood, stone, and soil, and would take an act of Kami to wash it away. That coupled with the eery emptiness created an environment that simply made you shiver in your shoes.

In any, event, Naruto and Sasuke were walking from the center of the district to the head estate. Why they were walking you ask? Simple, they didn't have any need to go any faster than a walk.

"So you wanna plan for tomorrow?" Sasuke asked his blonde friend.

"Sure, after we meet Hinata and talk with her about what her team is like under that jounin kunoichi." Naruto said with a stupid grin plastered on his face.

"You've got a crush and her?" Sasuke asked.

"Hell no." Naruto denied it. "Just think about getting to watch a beautiful and well endowed woman like herself fighting, bandaged or not."

"You're just as bad as Kakashi." Sasuke sighed and massaged the bridge of his nose.

"Hey!" Naruto indignatly shouted. "Take that back!"

"What?" Sasuke asked. "It's true. You're both perverts, have implanted sharingans, have spikey hair, are jounin level, and above all else, have a canine summon/companion."

"Okay, that's just freaky." Naruto deadpanned.

"Now that you mention it, it sort of is, and I was only listing things off the top of my head." Sasuke replied with a shiver. "Oh well, at least you aren't chronically late or addicted to porn."

"Yeah, those are not habits that should be picked up." Naruto agreed with Sasuke. "Especially since we have a jounin level kunoichi as a teammate and friend."

"Hinata-chan wouldn't like that." Sasuke said, shivering as he imagined her wrath if he actually picked up those habits.

"The only cool things about him are his mask and his power." Naruto declaired. "His mask makes him a mistery to most of the population, with several notable exceptions, and his power makes you respect him even with all his annoying and dirty habits."

"So…" Sasuke looked at the blonde next to him. "Wanna get a pair of masks?"

"Sure." Naruto grinned. "I don't got any money on me, so let's go ask your mom for some."

"First one there gets the 60 percent split!" Sasuke shouted as he took off at a full run.

"Damn it Sasuke!" Nruto yelled after him. "No fair!" Naruto decided to even the odds a little and shunshinned so that he was right even with Sasuke and matched his pace.

It took a little less than twenty seconds for the two young teens to cover the distance that would have taken them five minutes to walk. As they passed through the gate to the Head Mansion, Naruto was a hair infront of Sasuke. Th only reason they knew was because of the video survailance cameras they installed at the gate. There were two, one on each side to provide an accurate portrayal of the happenings at the gate.

Their races had become almost habitual everytime they came home, and the prizes, although small in the grand scheme of things, were enough to bring the two boys to blows. Mikoto had grown utterly weary of their fighting and bickering over all the small prizes and had the boys install security cameras. In addition to filimg definitively who came through the gate first, they provided the first of several security systems around the Uchiha's living space. A year since the first camera, and the entire Uchiha district was covered multiple times by hidden cameras that didn't rely on shinobi techniques to remain hidden. To cloak the cameras in a henge or genjutsu would be easy for a shinobi to do, but at the same time, easy for a shinobi to undo and figure out a way to nullify the camera. Instead, Mikoto had Naruto and Sasuke map out and plan a camera patern so that number one, each camera could see two others, and how to hide the cameras without using chakra. This involved painstakingly integrating the cameras into walls, stones, grass, trees, you name it, the two boys had to devise a way to hide the camera in it.

Anyway, that little footnote aside, Naruto's reaction to the photo finish results was favorable, while Sasuke sulked.

"You're just going to spend the leftover money on Ramen." Sasuke pointed out. "Why not put it to better uses and save up for some gear or something? Seriously to blow it all an Ramen is a little much, don't you think? It's not healthy to be addicted to ramen."

"Says the noble Uchiha boy who is addicted to the _commoner's_ food." Naruto retorted with special emphasis on 'commoner's.' "At least I'm man enough to admit that I have an addition."

"Shut up Naruto!" Sasuke angrily yelled at his most annoying friend. "I'm not addicted to that filth!"

"NEVER INSULT RAMEN!" Naruto yelled back, chakra flairing in warning. "IT IS KAMI'S GIFT TO MORTALS!"

"IT'S UNHEALTHY SLOP!" Sasuke retorted angrily.

"THAT'S IT!" Naruto declaired. "I WON'T HAVE YOU DISSING RAMEN! LET'S TAKE THIS OUTSIDE BUSTER!"

"Ummm….Naruto?" Sasuke's voice was back in the normal volume range but Naruto didn't notice.

"WHAT?"

"We kinda are outside." Sasuke continued.

"Oh."

"WILL YOU TWO SHUT UP FOR ONCE!!!!!" Mikoto's voice could be heard through out the entire Uchiha clan district. Her voice was the-you're-in-so-much-trouble-you're-gonna-want-to-just-end-your-life-now-and-get-it-over-with tone of voice.

"Say, how about we take a few laps around Konoha." Sasuke gulped.

"Sure, we can always go mask shopping some other day." Sasuke stammered.

Our two heros spead off into the sunset, the angry voice of the Uchiha's mother chasing after them.

XXX

**Damn that was a fast chapter to write. I finally found a little time to write and bam! Out comes another chapter. **

**I hope that you enjoyed the last little banter between Naruto and Sasuke. For some reason the random rambles that my fingers go on while typing fanfiction actually make sense and add to the story. Who knows maybe I'm meant to be a writer instead of an engineer?**

**READ AND REVIEW!!!**

**See you in the next installment of Together or Alone.**

**~Cyberviper42~**


	17. Chapter 17: Team 7's Start

**Back again with another exciting chapter of Together or Alone! **

**I hope that you understand my reasonings and if you have any more questions don't hesitate to let me know. Your review and questioning of the team arrangements leads me to think that i need to better explain the reasons in the story, and I'll work to include it in the this and upcoming chapters. **

**For those of you looking and conserned about the pairings for Naruto, I've decided to wait a long time before thinking about encorperatin that into the story. It doesn't make any sense for a twelve year old to be involved with a serious relationship. Everyone needs to mature a lot before I can get to that part of life.**

XXX

Chapter 17: Team 7's start

XXX

Naruto yawned for the tenth time in a minute. "Tell me again why he told us to be here so early?"

"Probably to throw us off during our test." Sasuke yawned as he replied.

Both Naruto and Sasuke stretched tiredly as they sat in Training Ground 7. Kakashi's paper informed them to meet there at 0500, and to not even eat breakfast. A starving Naruto was not the type of creature Sasuke wanted to be around early in the morning, so they naturally ate breakfast. They also reasoned that because Kakashi was always late, they would have a long time to digest their food and avoid up-chucking it during the test like the paper warned they would should they eat.

"Still, for the three of us to have him as a sensei must mean something." Naruto started to jog around the training ground. Sasuke joined him. In order to get to the training field on time, Sasuke and Naruto had to skip their morning workout. Since Kakashi was going to be late, they could use their time in a training field to make up for the loss.

"Either someone wants to prevent you from becoming a shinobi, even at the cost of my own future, or Hokage-sama believes we can meet his expectations and get some serious training." Sasuke replied. "You know that he has never passed a team before?"

"Yeah, I did some research about him last night." Naruto replied, and seeing Sasuke's weird look, he clarified. "With Kage Bunshins that I sent to the library and the Hokage's tower. He'll give us the infamous bell test, more than likely, I heard lots horror stories about that test from academy students that failed his test and had to repeat a year."

After twenty laps around the clearing, Naruto and Sasuke stopped running and stood about ten meters apart. "So whenever you are ready."

Sasuke didn't reply, but charged Naruto trying to use his speed to get inside his guard. Unfortunatly for him Naruto was just as fast and quickly dodged to the side and let Sasuke continue on straight. Naruto added to Sasuke's momentum with a chop to the back of his neck. Sasuke tripped over his feet with the sudden addition of speed, but managed to plant his hands and flip over them and land on his feet. He quickly turned to face Naruto who was charging him. Sasuke stood his ground and pulled Naruto into a quick exchange of blows. It was then that Kakashi was passing the training ground on his way to the memorial stone. If he was late, you could find him at the memorial stone speaking to his sensei and Obito.

Kakashi paused to look at the training ground. It might only have been seven o'clock, but there was no reason to not check up on his soon to be academy students. Jumping up to a tree branch where he could get a good look at the training ground. He was impressed to say the most. Sasuke and Naruto were sparing in the middle of the clearing, and it seemed as if Sakura was doing nothing but read. "Oh, well, I guess a few more hours won't hurt them."

"**But they will hurt you."** A voice came from between his feet.

It completely caught Kakashi off guard. He looked down and saw a red fox sitting on the tree branch between his feet. "What are you?" The Jounin demanded.

"**I'm hurt!" **The fox replied. **"That's my boy down there. He's doing an okay job against Sasuke."**

"You're the Kyuubi." Kakashi stated. It wasn't a question.

"**Bingo! Bingo! Bingo! Give the man a chicken dinner straight off the grill!" **The Kyuubi replied. **"I love it when we go for Barbeque. Ramen get's soooooo boaring after a gallon or two every meal."**

"What the fuck?" Kakashi looked at the red fox, absolutely paralyzed. Here he was standing over possibly the most powerful demon in the history of the world, but

"**I don't want to have you hindering Naruto and Sasuke's development as Shinobi." **The vixen grinned, showing her teeth. **"All I want is to make sure that Naruto, Hinata, and Sasuke become the shinobi they want to be. I will give you one piece of advice, and I advise that you follow it. Don't underestimate them. It will cost you your life."** With those words, she flicked her tail, scampered down the vertical tree trunk and disappeared in the underbrush of the forest floor.

"What are you hiding Naruto…Sasuke…?" Kakashi muttered before leaping down from the treebranch, intent on going to the memorial stone, when he heard Naruto's loud voice.

"OI KAKASHI-SENSEI!! ARE YOU READY TO GIVE US THE TEST!" Kakashi froze. Could the blonde sense him from over a hundred meters? No…no genin was that good, let alone a barely graduating academy student. Satisfied that Naruto hadn't sensed him, Kakashi continued on his merry way to the memorial stone, until Sasuke and Naruto crashed out of the underbush and intercepted the Jounin. They stumbled out of the woods dragging Sakura along with them, all three of them landing in a heap and tangle of legs and arms at Kakashi's feet. "You weren't planning on leaving us all alone on the training field for hours on end while you went and did your errands, were you?"

"Ummm…Actucally I was." Kakashi replied, having the common sense to look at least a little ashamed. An angry Kunoichi, no matter what level, was a pain. "I didn't think that you were capable of sensing me at the distance I was at."

"Eh?" Sakura looked confused.

"Who wouldn't sense you?" Sasuke asked. "Even the dobe was able to sense your perverted chakra signature."

"What...?" Kakashi stared at the two boys as if they grew an extra few heads.

"A person's chakra signature takes on characteristics of their soul and personality." Sakura stated as if reciting from a textbook, which she probably was, except that she had memorized the text. "It is rumored that the Snake Sannin Orrochimaru's chakra felt evil and vile. The Kyuubi no Yoko had evil chakra, and everyone in Konoha at the time of the attack, felt it."

"Your chakra just felt perverted." Naruto smirked giving the jounin a foxy grin. "Kinda like that old white-haired guy that spys on the girls side of the bath houses. Anyone with half decent senses can feel him. I don't know how the kunoichi don't feel it."

"You'd think that ninja with better control of their chakra would be able to sense it better." Sasuke commented.

"I have good control of my chakra Sasuke-kun!" Sakura said with hearts instead of her green eyes.

"That's only because of your tiny reserves." Naruto said shattering Sakura's ego boost with a vicious indifference. "The fact that you never trained in the academy like Sasuke, Hinata and I, means that you will have a hard time with the training regimine that you are going to go through."

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN NARUTO NO BAKA!!!!" Sakura shouted as she tried to smash the blonde's head in, only to miss nearly hit the Kyuubi who had been sitting next the blonde's feet. "AHHHH A FOX!!!!"

Before Sakura attempted to pummel the fox into pudding, Naruto snatched her from the ground and hugged her to his chest. "Kyu-chan! You have to be more careful when you're near her! You might get hurt!"

"Kyu-chan?" Sakura recoiled in fright. "Why the hell would you name a fox after that…that…MONSTER!"

"Because if I call her that, then people will fear her and make it easier to catch off guard." Naruto replied as he let the vixen climb up his arm, gripping his clothing with both claws and chakra, and wrap around his neck like a scarf. "She's a good tracker and can fit in a lot of different environments; Desert, Forest, Arctic…" Naruto absentmindedly scratched her behind her ears, hearning a contented purr come from the fox. "She's dead useful as a message carrier, and as a fighter!"

"Hnnn…" Sasuke looked at the Kyuubi for a moment before turning to Kakashi. "I believe that we have a test to give us Hatake-san."

"It's Kakashi-sensei." Kakashi replied in a board tone and sighed mentally. He wasn't going to get to spend enough time at the memorial.

"YATTA!!" Naruto shouted. "We are gennin now!"

"No you aren't." Kakashi stated. "You have to pass my test first."

"But you just told us to call you _Kakashi-sensei_!" Naruto grinned. "You're our teacher now, and you've accepted us as your students!"

'He would actually have a sound argument if it were as easy as that.' Kakashi smirked behind his mask. "Unfortunatly you still have to go through with the test to determine if you are gennin material."

"But you said—!"

"No buts." Kakashi firmly stopped Naruto in his tracks. "We have to do this properly. There are no shortcuts in the life of a shinobi, and thus you must take this test. Come on, I'll meet you at the clearing." With that he formed the half ram seal that most needed to shunshin, but Sasuke stopped him by grabing his hand and twisting it out of position to properly mold chakra. He also tapped the jounin on the inside of this elbow joint, causing the lower half of the limb to go limp.

"It's a nice day out." Sasuke smiled with a sickeningly false smile. "Why don't you take a nice walk over to the clearing with us?"

XXX

Sarutobi watched the proceedings of team 7's test through his crystal ball. It was amazing to say the least to watch three kids drag the Jounin through the woods and force him to start their test that wouldn't have started for another three hours if the Jounin had anything to say in the matter. Sakura had surprised him in knowing the nature of a person's chakra, as well as the fact that Sasuke seemingly wanted to train the girl into the ground to get her back to where she should have been. Perhaps Team 7 would be viable after all. He felt badly about giving the okay for Iruka to keep the teams as he originally had, but the chuunin had extremely good points that applied to the three members of Team Kitsune, even if he didn't know it. In fact, them being on Team Kitsune made his reasoning even stronger, and Sarutobi had to ensure that any of his shinobi could work together, no matter what. Even if he had to break up Team Kitsune and take an economic hit, it would benefit them in the long run. For even one member of Team Kitsune to be added to a team of ANBU, Jounin, or Chuunin, their success was practically guaranteed. Team Kitsune was literally the best team to come out of Konoha since the legendary Sannin. Their mission record was the best for anyone who had been on a team for as long as Team Kitsune. Even Itachi and his ANBU squad didn't come close when they were all still alive. Itachi always came back no matter how many of his squadmates died on missions. No matter what, he was alive at the end of the day. Not everyone was pleased with this, but there was no incriminating evidence against Itachi, or anyone for that matter. He just had the worst of luck when it came to mission assignments…It didn't hurt that most of his missions nowadays were S-class and nearly suicidal.

XXX

Kakashi sighed. It wasn't fair that he had to get the one team that could possibly pass his test. He wanted to sit back and read his Icha Icha, but as things stood, he didn't think that it would be a good idea to read it while fighting Team 7. Uchiha Sasuke was way better than the academy report stated. The Chuunin instructors must not have been good at sensing chakra, because the Uchiha easily had jounin level reserves. Uzumaki Naruto also was severely underestimated in the reports as well. His chakra levels were larger than anyones he had felt in his life. Even his sensei, the Yondaime, didn't have the same amount of chakra to throw around when he was the Hokage. Naruto was also getting training from the rogue Jinchuriki from Kumo. Utilizing the Kyuubi's chakra, Naruto was probably stronger than even the Sandaime when the old man was in his prime. It was scary to think that some one so young was so powerful. In a way he could understand where they were coming from, as he grew up in a war and was jounin by the time he was their age, but he was nowhere near the level that these two were at when he was twelve.

"Yo Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto called out from infront of the silver-haired jounin. He was jumping up and down so fast that it took a moment for Kakashi's one good eye to focus on him.

"Hmmm?" The jounin asked.

"You gonna keep standing there or give us our test already?" Kakashi glanced around and found that he was in the center of training ground seven. 'crap.'

"Alright." Kakashi sighed. "The goal of your test will be to get these two bells from me. The one who doesn't get a bell goes back to the academy for more training." Kakashi smirked inwardly as Sakura looked nervous. Naruto and Sasuke readied themselves watching Kakashi. "You won't be able to get these bells if you don't come at me with the intent to kill. Begin when I say start."

"Hajime!"

Kakashi looked up into the sky as he felt the three genin disappear. 'They appear to be well hidden.' Naruto stumbled out of the forest and whipped two kunai at Kakashi's head. The Jounin grabbed them by their rings and twirled them around their fingers. "You're supossed to be hiding like the rest of the team."

"I know." Naruto replied, smirking. "I'm just buying them time. By the time you're done with me, it will be too late for you."

"You seem pretty confident of yourself." Kakashi said from behind his mask.

"You do as well." Naruto retorted. "And you shouldn't underestimate me because I'm a genin."

"So I've been told by a fox."

"And…?"

"And what?"

"What do you think of her?" Naruto asked.

"I don't appreciate that what my sensei gave his life to seal away, you have let out." Kakashi answered. "And quite frankly I don't trust it."

"Understandable." Naruto replied. "I'm just glad that you aren't trying to kill me for over her."

"So are you going to attack or not?" Kakashi asked the blonde boy.

"Sure, let me limber up a bit first." Naruto smirked as he released a level of his gravity seals discretely. Kakashi simply raised an eye…his only eye as he felt Naruto use his chakra without any external changes to his person except the fact that Naruto seemed a little more relaxed?

Without warning, Naruto shot forward, smashing his fist into a wooden log which Kakashi had replaced himself with, seeing the blonde shoot forward faster than he expected. Kakashi landed on a tree limb overlooking the clearing. Regrettably he lifted his hand to his forehead and raised his forehead protector. His pride wanted him to cover his Sharingan eye, but he knew that if he didn't want a _genin_ to boast that they had beaten one of Konoha's top jounin shinobi, he'd have to take the blonde seriously. With the red eye swirling, Kakashi charged Naruto and drew two kunai and began to duel wield them. Sparks flashed through the clearing as Naruto and Kakashi sped through the terrain, rebounding off trees and rocks to gain more speed. Kakashi began to be worried. He hadn't seen hide or hair of Saukra or Sasuke since the blonde began attacking him. If Naruto was on this leve without the Kyuubi's chakra, Kakashi didn't want to see what Sasuke could do. It was rumored that Sasuke and Naruto had been trained by Itachi since before they even entered the academy.

Sasuke had activated his sharingan during his academy years and it had been cause for celebration amoung most of the civilians. With the Uchiha clan so reduced in number, the awakening of another pair of Sharingan was a big deal. Sasuke had already been heralded as a genius, and with his copying eyes, it was expected for him to succeed at averything. With his eyes activated, Itachi had stepped up his training, and if Naruto was only a part-time student, Kakashi didn't want to see Sasuke at full strength.

Naruto grinned to himself as he started to slow his movements down as he added on his gravity seals. He only went at Chunin speed, which was more than enough to catch the copy nin off guard for the beginning of the match. The gravity seals on his arms were made with ink that faded when UV light from the sun passed through it, and stayed nearly invisible. Unless you were a sealmaster and looking for a seal, you would simply pass off the odd colorings as differences in the skin's pigmentation. The gravity seals allowed him to train as if he was wearing weights, but not have the massive steel bars to wreck his precision movements. It was the kind of training that only someone like him could do. Most bodies would implode after a few levels. Organs were simply not designed to withstand constant pressure on the levels that Naruto was currently feeling. It was only because of the Kyuubi and his body changing to adapt to her chakra, that Naruto's body could stand the gravity seals as a viable primary source of training.

Naruto stopped in the middle of the clearing, panting for breath. Kakashi stopped ten meters away from the blonde and eyed him carefully. Suddenly a set of eight shuriken whistled down from the sky and landed around Kakashi. None of them even came close to hitting the jounin, which made the now bi-optic shinobi wary. Sakura calmly left the forest and walked straight up to Kakashi. Stepping up to the jounin, Sakura simply reached for the bells at Kakashi's belt.

"Are you serious?" Kakashi slowly moved his hand to intercept her hand, but suddenly he couldn't move.

"She's serious sensei." Sasuke's voice rang out through the clearing. The jounin couldn't pin point where his voice was coming from. "You can't move, use chakra, and all in all, if we wanted to kill you, we could."

A wooden log suddenly smacked Kakashi in the face as the Jounin tried to perform a kawimari. "Naruto suggested that little part of the technique. You can summon the log to you, but you cannot leave your spot. Adds injury and humiliation."

"Kinda funny that we essentially beat you with our weakest jointly created jutsu." Naruto smirked. That would defiantly get on the jounin's nerves. "Itachi-sensei is a master of the fundamentals and we realized that if you take something like the ability to shunshin or kawimari from a shinobi, they are essentially sitting ducks for a killing blow."

"Suggo." Sakura examined the thin steel cables that held the jounin in place. "Sasuke-kun, you're so awesome!"

"Hey!" Naruto cried out indignantly. "I helped make the jutsu just as much as Sasuke!"

"I'm the only one who can exicute it because you can't get the manipulation of the Uchiha techniques down." Sasuke bragged. "If anything, it's my jutsu that you helped on."

"Hey!" Naruto shouted making fists. "Take that back!"

"Make me!" Sasuke retorted.

"Teme!" Naruto lunged at Sasuke but tripped over Kakashi's foot. The Jounin's wire binding had loosened as the words between the Genin escalated in volume. As a result, he was able to stop the two from beating the tar of eatchother.

"That's enough you two." Kakashi said as he attempted to regain control of the situation and free himself. He wasn't able to free himself thanks to Sasuke tightening his bindings almost to the point where they drew blood. "Let me go."

"Nuh unh sensei." Sakura waged a finger at the jounin. "We've already demonstrated that you can't escape from here, so we're going to get everything from this situation.

"Meaning?" Kakashi asked the pink-haried girl. In the eyes of the three males she was not yet a kunoichi. She had potential, but potential was just potential until converted into prowess.

"In every female changing room in Konoha, there's a sign offering significant cash for a picture of your true face." Sakura produced a camera from her seemingly useless bag of accessories. "Now hold still sensei!"

Kakashi was beginning to panic as Sakura reached to pull down his mask, when Sasuke sneezed, momentairaly loosening his bindings. That was all the Jounin needed to escape. Kakashi snapped the wires as they drew blood on his wrists and ankles from the pressure he was exerting on them. The capture jutsu was completely effective in preventing a chakra enhanced escape, but the weak link in the jutsu was that a strong enough and pain resistant enough person could simply break through as Kakashi had done when forced to by Sakura. To someone like Guy, it would be a mere annoyance.

As soon as he was free, Kakashi shunshinned several meters away and pulled out his orange book. "Sakura, decide who should get the bells and who should return to the academy."

"It's true that Naruto and Sasuke-kun did all the work, but I played my part and actually got the bells." Sakura stated. "We'll all pass as a team."

"You tell her Sasuke?" Naruto asked. The Uchiha shook his head negatively.

"Nope, she figured it out once I mentioned that working together would net the best results." Sasuke replied, making Kakashi smile beneath his mask.

"Well then." The jounin snapped his book closed after dog-earing a page. "I'm happy to officially make you Team 7. Meet here tomorrow at seven to get our first mission." With that Kakashi poofed out of existence and left the Genin to take that as their dismissal.

"Who's up for ramen?"

XXX

Sarutobi sat at the head of a meeting hall behind a desk with the official folders of each academy graduate, already sorted into their numbered teams. Before him a crowd of jounin senseis stood waiting for one particular jounin to appear. They all had anticipated a long wait and had brought some sort of reading material to pass the time. Their preperation was proved useless the minute Hatake Kakashi walked in the door with five minutes to spare before the meeting officially began. Kurenai immediately tried to release a genjutsu that she might have fallen under with the rest of the room's occupants, but when she opened her eyes, Hatake Kakashi was still standing before her.

"What?" He asked. No one answered. There was no need.

"Well, since Kakasi-kun is here, let's get this over with."

"Team one fails."

"Team two fails."

…

"Team seven…passes."

"Wait what?" Sarutobi Asuma was the voice of surprise for most of the room. "We here you right?"

"What part of 'passes' did you not comprehend." Kakashi asked sourly. Come on why did everyone have to be surprised.

"How the hell did a bunch of fresh academy grads pass your bell test?" Aoba asked.

"They disabled me and took the bells from my belt." Kakashi replied as he turned the page of his smut.

"Ahem." Everyone turned to look at the Hokage. "Let's get this meeting overwith and then we can discuss Kakashi-kun's team.

"Team eight passes." Kurenai reported. "But I have some concerns about Hyuuga Hinata that I would like everyone's opinion on."

"Team ten passes." Asuma stated.

"Now, with that finished, we'll hear Kurenai-chan's concerns and then listen to Kakashi describe how his team passed." The Sandaime stated.

"I don't know how else to say this, but it appeared that Hinata was holding herself back." Kurenai said. "Everytime she moved to react, she would twitch as if reacting and then stoping herself from reacting as fast as she normally would."

"She is the Hyuuga heiress is she not?" Asuma asked and the jounin kunoichi nodded. "Then perhaps she was trained by her clan to low chuunin level, and she didn't want to outshine the rest of her teammates. Her report lists her as a fairly kind and considerate, if a tad shy, character."

"Makes sense." Kakashi replied. "The Hyuugas primarily focus on taijutsu so her reaction timing needs to be quick in order for her to utilize the gentle fist with any amount of proficiency. Asuma's probably right about her holding back to not outshine the others."

"I guess that makes sense, it would explain her good stamina and high chakra reserves." Kurenai commented before closing that particular discussion. "Thanks."

"So Kakashi-kun, care to explain how team seven passes?" Sarutobi asked, amusement in his voice. "They must have impressed you quite a bit."

"That would be an understatement, Hokage-sama." Kakashi replied. "Uzumaki Naruto's file doesn't do his abilites justice. He's got high chuunin level speed and taijutsu, but I suspect that he was using seals of some sort to do weight training like Guy and his genin. He released them and forced me to use the sharingan to keep up with his movements. A normal chuunin wouldn't force me to do that, but for some reason my gut told me that I had to use it, or be beaten down."

The assembly was shocked into silence. Kakashi had revealed his ace to a genin in order to not be defeated.

"Apparently Naruto's stamina is high genin level because he only lasted a couple of minutes at his top speed. He also randomized his movements and rebounded off of trees and rocks using them to quickly accelerate and change direction, trying to throw me off." The one eyed jounin continued his story. "Right as we stopped our little spar, Sasuke used Uchiha shuriken and shinobi wire techniques to trap me in the middle of the clearing when Naruto had positioned me."

"The amazing thing was that I couldn't escape from the wires. Naruto and Sasuke had colaberated on some sort of technique that disables the target from using shunshin or kawimari." This got the jounin's attention. Most high-level battles involved a lot of replacements and quick movements. "I tried a kawimari, but got a log to the face when the log moved to me, but I didn't move."

Sarutobi chuckled as he imagined what it must have looked like. "I see Naruto-kun's pranking abilities went into this jutsu."

"Hai Hokage-sama." Kakashi replied. "After that, Sakura simply walked up to me and relinquished me of my bells. I couldn't do anything except watch her take them."

"Stop making bullshit up Kakashi." One jounin spoke up. "Appologies for the language, but there's no way Uzumaki or Uchiha could be that advanced and not graudate early."

"They've been working with Itachi-kun in his free time." The Sandaime spoke up. "I'm sure that there's no way that he'd not teach them useful and applicable skills that would help them in any battle. Itachi-kun is the master of the basics and because of that can take on almost any opponent without resorting to high-level jutsus and moves. I suspect that their jutsu was based upon his basics-first style."

"Their conversation lead me to the same conclusion." Kakashi stated. "Regardless, Sakura is going to have a hard time to catch up to them anytime soon, even with them helping train her."

"So Sasuke and Naruto expressed an intrest in training her?" Sarutobi asked.

"Hai."

"Good." Sarutobi smirked, putting his jounin shinobi on edge. "Well, if any of the teams that passed, need advanced materials, don't hesitate to ask. I have a feeling that this batch of genin is going to become well known as they grow." No one spoke for a moment. "Well, if there isn't anything anything else, this meeting is over. Dismissed."

XXX

"I'm glad Asuma-san came up with such a good explination for Hinata's advancement." Itachi stated in the Hokage's office as the ANBU and village leader entered, closing the doors behind them. They didn't want any eavesdroppers.

"Indeed." Sarutobi replied. "I'm just glad that the three didn't completely reveal their abilities. Right now, Sasuke seems to be the only one not under too much scrutiny having been under your instruction and not revealing anything except a slightly advanced Uchiha shuriken technique. Nothing to raise a flag over."

"Are you sure it was a good idea to break them up like that?" Itachi asked, for once showing some emotion.

"Iruka-kun's reasoning was flawless, and I couldn't agree more with his team placements." The elder shinobi replied. "Konoha is about teamwork, and Team Kitsune needs to learn all parts of that concept before they can become a truly effective team. I would rather assign two squads of ANBU to a mission that they would have normally handled, or just not take the mission if in the end Team Kitsune becomes stronger. It is also important for them to learn to fully interact with children their own age. I hate creating child soldiers, but sometimes it is unavoidable to not hurt them in the long run."

"Like me." Itachi stated.

"Hai." Sarutobi murmered back. " But your position was unique and I doubt that there will ever be a Konoha shinobi who has to go through what you did. You were that unique."

"Should I wait for a while until calling them together as a team and talking with them?" Itachi asked, seeking orders.

"A week with their new teams should be an appropriate amount of time to get acclimated to their new position." Sarutobi replied. "Anything after that should be fine. You can call a meeting at your leasure and explain the reasons behind the team placements if they haven't already figured it out."

"They're good, but I'd be surprised if they understood Iruka's reasoning fully." Itachi replied.

"They are still young afterall, no matter how mature or immature they may seem." Sarutobi replied. Ther were times where the two elite shinobi were at a loss to explain the irratic blonde's behavior. It was almost as if he was bipolar. One moment he could be serious and mature, the next he could be spraypainting the Hokage's monument to make it 'better'.

"I'll let you know how things go." Itachi stood to leave.

"Thank you Itachi-kun, you may go." Sarutobi dismissed his best and most trusted shinobi.

XXX

**Phew! I spammed out the last 2500 words in this chapter in one sitting. I know that I'm kinda ignoring Hinata in this chapter, but I don't feel that I can write her genin test well enough. I'm more comfortable with the team 7 characters. You probably won't see much of Hinata until the wave mission, I'm thinking of a double genin squad assignment for that mission. Hehehe!!!**

**Don't know why I just laughed, but whatever.**

**READ AND REVIEW!!!**

**Peace.**

**~Cyberviper42~**


	18. Chapter 18 Wave!

**I'm back with chapter 18 of together or alone! **

**I finally finished my AP exams and I'm able to write a lot more. I'm happy. School's almost out. I'm happy. Summer's almost here. I'm happy. You getting the trend?**

**ONWARD TO THE STORY! R & R**

Chapter 18: Wave

XXX

Hinata sat in front of the Ramen stand waiting for Naruto and Sasuke to show up. Every genin team had had their team test this morning, and the young Hyuuga kunoichi was eager to hear about how their test went.

"Yo Hinata-chan!" Naruto shunshinned right next to her and would have caught her off guard had she not felt his chakra signature approaching. "You pass?"

"Hai!" Hinata replied as Sasuke appeared in a cloud of leaves and smoke. "How about your team? Did you pass with Sakura-san?"

Naruto began to tear up and covered his eyes with an arm and leaned on Sasuke's shoulder before starting to bawl. "WAAAA SHE DIDN'T BELIEVE IN US!"

"Idiot." Sasuke muttered under his breath as he pushed Naruto off his shoulder and towards the ramen stand. "Go get your ramen and stop fooling around!"

At the word 'ramen' Naruto was no longer falling over, but sitting at the ramen stand and banging on the counter. "Hey Old Man! One of everything!" Hinata, Sasuke and Itachi, who had shunshinned to the stand in time to catch the odd display of ramen love, sweatdropped.

"I didn't think that he'd be gorging himself the day of his genin exams." Itachi muttered, causing Hinata and Sasuke to look in his dierection. They weren't surprised that he was there; they had sensed his chakra signature long before he appeared.

"When is Naruto not putting ramen into his stomach at an unnatural speed?" Sasuke asked rhetorically.

"At least his vices are realatively harmless." Hinata stated. "Not like Kakashi-sensei's fetish for porn, being late, and staring at the memorial stone."

"How'd you know he stares at the memorial stone?" Naruto asked through a mouthful of wet noodles, looking more like a blonde squid than a shinobi.

"Team 8's training ground boarders Team 7's training ground and the memorial stone is right inbetween them." Hinata explained to Team Kitsune at its sensei. "I had to use my Byakugan during our test which was going on before Team 7's exam started, and naturally I saw how you captured him in order to make him test you." The pale eyed girl giggled with Sasuke and Naruto when they saw that Itachi had no idea what they were talking about.

"Go see Kakashi-sensei if you want the story." Naruto waved his hand at the ANBU captain.

"I heard how you defeated Kakashi-sempai from Sarutobi-sama, but not what happened before." Itachi told the secretive team. "Mind telling me?"

"It would be more funny if Kakashi-sensei tells you, Nii-san." Sasuke replied, not revealing any information. "Besides, he'll probably want to talk to you about how good we are."

"Indeed I do." The masked perverted jounin said, appearing in the middle of the group, startling the three genin who hadn't felt his chakra or detected him with any of their other senses.

"Ahh, Kakashi-sempai." Itachi greeted the jounin and former ANBU Captain. "What can I do for you? I heard quite a bit about the genin exam through Sarutobi-sama, but these stingy kids won't even tell me what happened."

"Mind if we talk somewhere more private?" Kakashi asked.

"No, where do you have in mind?" Itachi asked in reply. "Top of the Hokage's monument?"

"That will work." Kakashi replid, shunshinning from view.

"Don't create property damage." Itachi ordered with a wave and disappeared in a the same manner as the Sensei.

…

"Soooooo…" Naruto broke the silence that followed in the wake of Itachi's leaving. "Hinata-chan, wanna work on that summoning thingie?" The pale eyed girl nodded with a smile as the blonde summoned the demon vixen into the tangable plane.

XXX

"So you've been teaching Sasuke and Naruto?" Kakashi asked Itachi when they had landed on the Hokage's monument.

"A little." Itachi admitted. "Mostly so they could earn a little cash by doing D-ranks."

"They went on missions when they weren't legal shinobi of Konoha?" Kakashi asked, completely surprised. "How did Hokage-sama allow that?"

"I had a clone with them and I had them learn a lot before they could even start pulling any weeds." Itachi replied. "They knew tree climbing and water walking before Hokage-sama permitted them to start any missions. He wanted them to be fully capable of handling anything that a D-rank could entail."

"So basically they are low chunnin level." Kakashi muttered. "They're going to throw the entire dynamics of the team off."

"So Sakura is going to have three senseis?" Itachi asked. "All you really need to do is trainging, couple of D-ranks, and then go straight to C-ranks to shell shock the girl into realizing what a shinobi is all about."

"I think that she already is starting to realize that." Kakashi replied. "Sasuke and Naruto basically took me down, scaring Sakura. She only knew Naruto as the class dunce and couldn't really comprehend how he was as good as Sasuke."

"Better sooner than later." Itachi replied. "It's sad to see when a girl values her crushes over the realities of her profession. I've seen too many die because they weren't ready for the harshness of the battlefield."

Kakashi nodded. "So did you hear about Hyuuga Hinata?"

"Yes I did." Itachi replied. "She's been friends with Naruto and Sasuke since before they joined the academy, so it's quite possible that they have taught her some things that I taught them."

Kakashi shrugged. "Makes sense, but you are hiding something. I'm not sure what, but I will find out."

"What makes you think I'm hiding something from you?" Itachi asked.

"My gut feeling." Kakashi replied. "It's never let me down in situations like these."

"I can respect that." Itachi said. "I would probably have similar suspicions if I were in your position." With that, Itachi shunshinned to the ramen stand to find that Naruto was still packing the noodles into his stomach, and Hinata and Sasuke were done eating several bowls and currently watching the blonde eat at an inhuman pace.

"So what did he want?" Sasuke asked when Itachi entered his view.

"Oh, you know advice from a great shinobi like me about how to deal with his two awesome students." Itachi replied. "And to find out about our steller Kunoichi here."

All of Team Kitsune looked a happy that they were creating some chaos among the minds of Konoha's best.

"Unfortunatly, I don't know how long your secret as the team will be safe if you keep showing off." Itachi warned. "There isn't much I can do to refute the fact that you three are great shinobi and are capable of increadable things. The more you show off, the more questions I and Sarutobi-sama are going to get, to the point where the council will be demanding to know answers about you three."

"So?" Naruto asked, finished with his last bowl and laying some money one the counter to cover the bill with an ample tip. "The council can't do anything."

"They have more power than you realize." Itachi stated. "They can pressure Sarutobi-sama into making a decision. They will be especially interested when their precious Uchiha boy," Sasuke smirked and snorted. "Like it or not, the fact that you've activated the sharingan, means that you're even more valuable as a shinobi for Konoha. They will sacrifice hundreds of men and women in order to keep you safe whether you are worth that cost or not. Their perception is scewed, thinking that the sharingan is the ultimate weapon."

"Danzo is the perpetraitor of this ideology, right?" Naruto asked. "That guy was the head of the ANBU Root division right?"

"Hai…however there is a lot of suspicion that he never disbanded his personal army like ordered." Itachi replied. "Our shinobi population would have grown, however none of the Root shinobi entered into service."

"So basically, they are missing and there's no proof to incriminate the cripple." Sasuke grumbled.

"Are people who helped him in the past, in power on the council?" Hinata asked.

"Yes, the two elders, Hokage-sama's teammates have close ties to Danzo." Itachi answered.

"We could look at the measures that they've pushed through the council to see if there's anything abnormal that would indicate the support of an entire division of shinobi." Hinata suggested.

"That would take a lot of time." Sasuke stated. "And he most certainly wouldn't be careless about leaving a paper trail."

"It's worth a shot." Naruto grinned. "Besides, we've got all the people we could ever need with my kage bunshins!"

"Could work…" Itachi admitted. "I'll speak with Hokage-sama about getting you access to all the records, but it might have to be disguised as a joint D-rank or something to clean out the rooms and organize everything."

"YATTA!" Naruto pumped his fist in the air. "We'll finally be able to do missions together without having to hide it!"

"Don't shout IDIOT!" Sasuke bashed Naruto's skull with a fist. "We don't want to just tell everyone do we?"

"Alright, knock it off!" Hinata bashed both Sasuke's and Naruto's heads, causing them to fall to the ground.

"He started it first!" Sasuke growled pointing at his blonde teammate.

"Doesn't matter!" Hianta growled back.

"Right, everyone enjoy your time with your genin teams and I'll see you when I see you." Itachi said before shunshinning away.

"So, how's your team, Hinata-chan?" Sasuke asked, getting up from the ground when said girl had put him.

"Shino-kun is alright and intelligent enough to realize that I'm giving good suggestions, but Kiba is plain aweful." Hinata replied. "He's a slob, brash, reackless, stupid, thickheaded, thinks that all girls are eye candy, and that he should be the team leader when he's got no sense of what to do or a sense of teamwork beyond the pack mentality his family has ingrained in him."

"Ouch." Naruto winced as he listened to Hinata rant about the canine genin. "At least Sakura is willing to learn from me and Sasuke…or maybe it was just Sasuke…I dunno."

"She's confused about how you're proving yourself different from the class dobe and being a shinobi who can perform as well as I can in combat situations." Sasuke stated. "Honestly, how can you not tell that by looking ather eyes and body language?"

"Hey, just because I'm not a people person, doesn't mean that you have to rub it in my face." Naruto whined back. "I can still plant you six feet under with my onijutsu!"

"I have been wondering about those jutsus Naruto-kun." Hinata spoke up. "Would I be able to use them if I did a chakra transfusion with you or Kyu-chan if I summoned her?"

"Dunno, but that chakra would burn your pathways so fast that you wouldn't be able to use any chakra, potentially forever." Naruto replied while summoning the Kyuubi with a miniscule amount of chakra. "There's a reason she got sealed inside a baby whose coils and pathways hadn't matured. An adult's body wouldn't be able to handle the raw power in her chakra."

"**That is correct, Naruto-kun." **The demonic vixen said as she climbed up his back and curled around his neck. **"While you wouldn't be able to use onijutsu, Hinata-chan, I would, so you being able to do so would simply be unnecicary."**

"But Naruto-kun knows how to use them!" Hinata replied.

"**That's because Naruto has to know them in order to fully maximize my chakra and utilize it in combat. It's a part of him that is useful and needs to be trained."** The Kyuubi answered.

"So have you made any progress on the summoning business while we are still on the subject?" Sasuke asked.

**"Actually, I haven't." **The fox replied. **"The damn seal is both amazing and aweful. I can't figure out how to work remote summoning, even though I can be summoned by Naruto. You would think that there wouldn't be too much difference, but I cannot figure it out."**

"We'd need to talk to a seal master." Hinata replied.

"I doubt that they'd be willing to help Kyu-chan be summoned." Naruto said sadly. "After-all who would want a ten story tall demon fox to be summoned on a whim? Especially after what her last actions were."

"**Maybe you could go to Iwa."** The Kyuubi suggested. **"I'd be willing to bet that they would like a demon like myself attacking Konoha."**

"There's just the small problem that I'm from Konoha and I kinda look like the Yondaime." Naruto replied. "I think that they would be interested in killing me once they got their hands on me."

"**You never know." **The Kyuubi replied with a little whine. **"Never hurts to try! Whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger!"**

"And if I die?" Naruto asked. "How does that help?"

"**Well…"**

"Don't answer."

The Kyuubi slimked off and curled around Hinata's ankles and looked at her with puppy eyes. **"You won't be mean to me will you?"**

"If I can summon you, I will be happy." Hinata patted the fox on her head. "But, I wanna learn how fast!"

"**We're working hard."** The Kyuubi replied purring at the attention she was receiving from Hinata's hand.

"We should get going." Sasuke interrupted. He had been measuring the sun's path through the sky, and it was getting late in the afternoon. "I don't think that our parents are going to like us being late. Besides we've got a lot of missions to go on in the morning."

The Kyuubi dispersed to allow Sasuke and Naruto to pass through the village with fewer glares of hatred. Hinata waved good bye before walking in the opposite direction from Sasuke and Naruto as the Hyuuga compound was on the opposite side of Konoha from the Uchiha compound.

XXX

"So, you've got a few choices here team 7." Sarutobi muttered with his pipe clamped in his mouth. "You can walk the Inuzuka dogs, clean the riverside park, wash the graffetti off the…"

"NO!" Naruto burst out.

"Naruto…" The Hokage attempted to be intimidating.

"We've been doing nothing but these so-called missions for…" Naruto started to count on his hands, causing several sweatdrops to fall on those around him. "…longer than we should!" He shouted after giving up on the counting.

"Naruto!" Iruka shouted. "You shouldn't question Hokage-sama! Rookie genin are given missions that they are capable. You can't handle a higher mission."

"Iruka-san." Kakashi interrupted the Chuunin academy teacher's rant. "I may have only had these chibi-shinobi for a few weeks, but they are more than ready to handle a low C-rank mission."

"But they aren't experienced enough." Iruka countered.

"I believe that Kakashi has the final say on whether or not his team is ready." Sarutobi spoke up. "I would suggest that another genin team go."

"That would be acceptable I guess." Kakashi scratched his chin through his mask. "What is the mission?"

"Escort to Nami." Sarutobi replied. "More people would probably be welcome by the client."

"Alright." Kakashi shrugged as he looked at his team. "So who will we be with?"

"Teams 8 and 10 are open, so who'd you rather have?" Sarutobi asked as he looked over a list of teams assigned missions.

"TEAM 8!" Naruto shouted. "I wanna work with Hinata-chan!"

"I don't want to work with Ino-pig." Sakura declared. "Team 8."

"Team 8." Sasuke sighed as he couldn't seem to muster the energy to shout like his teammates.

"That's pretty…uhh…unanimous." Sarutobi chuckled to himself. Naruto and Sasuke simply wanted to work with Hinata again. Anyone who knew of their past as a team would be able to tell that. "Would someone fetch Team 8 from their training ground?" He asked some of the assembled chuunin. One of them nodded and then disappeared in a shunshin. He was back in under a minute.

"They're on their way."

"Thank you." Sarutobi smiled at the chuunin who nodded.

"So who's the client?" Kakashi asked.

"Tazuna could you come in?" The Hokage raised his voice so that it would carry through the walls and doors of the mission hall.

The door slamed open. "You're sending thes brats to guard me?" Tazuna drunkenly slurred. "Are they even ninja? The blonde one looks like he's a midget!"

Naruto glanced left and right and saw that he was indeed the blonde, short one of the group. "WHY YOU!" He sloppily attempted to throw a brace of shuriken through the old man's body but was stopped by Sasuke and Kakashi.

"Don't do it…I need to get out of this village, man…" Sasuke murmered into the blonde's ear so low that only Naruto heard him.

"Fine." Naruto pouted as he packed his shuriken away.

"We'll leave in two hours from the east gate." Kakashi declared, getting his team's attention. "Pack only the neccecities. Naruto, Sasuke, wait for team 8 and then go pack after telling them where to meet us."

"Hai!" Naruto saluted his jounin sensei as the man disappeared in a shunshin.

Sakura left soon after the jounin while Tazuna walked, or rather stumbled to the mission table to drop off the last of his paperwork for requesting a mission.

"So, genjutsu challenge?" Sasuke asked, trying to figure out a way to pass the time.

"Sure, you first." Naruto replied.

Sasuke flipped through five handseals and suddenly Naruto saw team 8 come in the door.

"Well, I guess we're done before we even started." Sasuke laughed.

"Kai."

"Damn." Sasuke swore as the blonde's eyes focused on him. "You're turn."

Instead of Team 8 appearing, nothing happened. Sasuke looked around and saw the rest of the missions hall empty. "Kai." Sasuke tried to break out of the genjutsu, but nothing changed. Sasuke activated his sharingan and the people in the hall appeared before his eyes as the genjutsu failed before his eyes.

"How did you do that?" Sasuke asked.

"You didn't notice?"

"Obviously not if I'm asking you." Sasuke retorted.

"Hey! Hey! No need to get angry." Naruto waved his hands infront of him trying to calm his friend down. "I just used my eyes."

"Forget it." Sasuke growled as his sharingan swirled in his eye socket. He formed a set of 17 handseals, finishing on the ram seal as Naruto's world disappeared.

XXX

Kurenai walked into the oddest sight when she entered the missions hall with her team. Uzumaki Naruto was laying on the ground, drool dripping from his mouth as Uchiha Sasuke stood over him with his sharingan blazing. The most remarkable part of it all was that the Uchiha's doujutsu was fully matured with three tomoes swirling in a never-ending circle. The Kunoichi jounin strode over to the blonde genin and tapped him on the forehead with two fingers. She injected the boy with enough chakra to disrupt his natural flow and end the genjutsu.

"Wha?" Naruto sputtered as he opened his eyes looking up at Kurenai. The angle he was at gave him a view that many a super pervert would kill to get. Naruto blushed. "Um… Sensei? Would you mind moving?" Naruto found his toes suddenly very interesting.

"Gomen." Kurenai appologised, blushing ever so faintly. She was Konoha's Ice Queen. She did _not_ let males get views of her. Stepping towards the mission table where Sarutobi sat, she composed herself and spoke to the Hokage. "I was told that you had a mission for my team, Hokage-sama."

"Yes, Naruto, Sasuke, you may tell Kurenai-chan the details." Sarutobi motioned to the two boys who now looked deadly serious, completely composed and not a hint of their former embarasment or anger crossed their faces.

"Hai Hokage-sama."

"Sure thing Jii-san!" (Guess who.)

Kurenai was about to rebuke the blonde for his blatent disrespect but Sarutobi chuckled. "It's been a while since I've heard that Naruto-kun."

"Get used to it Jii-san!" Naruto shouted as he left with Sasuke and Team 8…who were just getting over the fact that Naruto was giving them their mission. The group of six left the hall and climbed up to the roof of the Hokage's Tower.

"So what's our mission!" Kiba shouted. "Hokage-sama picked us of a mission. That must mean that we're the best!"

"NO! We're the best!" Naruto shouted back.

"Shut up!" Sasuke punched Naruto over the edge of the tower.

"NARUTO!"

Said blonde appeared next to everyone who was looking down. "Woah! That's a long fall!"

Needless to say it surprised Kiba who was the only one to not sense the blonde shunshin up to the roof. "DON'T DO THAT!"

"Shut up." Sasuke growled, getting extremely annoyed by the two idiots. "The mission…" Everyone sobered up at those words.

"Right!" Naruto got back on track. "We've got a dual C-rank escort mission to Nami, protecting a drunken bridgebuilder. He claims to only be seeking protection from bandits, but he was visably and vocally annoyed when he saw a genin team instead of chuunin or something." Naruto started getting into his analysis of Tazuna. "I'd say he's got either more bandits than a genin team can handle or a couple of shinobi on his tail. In any event, since this is Team 7's first C-rank mission, the Old Man decided to have you guys go with us. That way we get more experience and Tazuna feels a little safer."

"Woah." Kiba's eyes were buggin out of his skull at Naruto. Turning to Shino he whispered; "When did Naruto grow a brain?"

"HEY!" Naruto shouted indignatly. "Just because I failed class to try to get on Hinata-chan's team with Sasuke, doesn't mean I'm dumb!

"But you fail at failing!" Kiba laughed while pointing at Naruto. "You can't even fail right!"

"Oh, I failed right." Naruto retorted. "Iruka-sensei just didn't realize how good Hinata-chan, Sasuke, and I would be on a team!"

"Kiba. Naruto. Enough." Kurenai's stern voice cut through their bickering like a kunai through paper. "Where does Kakashi want to meet?"

"Oh, west gate in an hour and a half." Naruto saluted the young woman. "Let's go Sasuke!" The two genin turned and shunshinned off the roof, surprising everyone.

"Since when have they been able to do that?" Kiba asked.

"For some time." Shino cryptically replied.

"Huh?"

"The fact that they didn't use handseals for a chuunin level ninjutsu means that they are increadably proficient in using it and have been using it for a long time." Kurenai spoke up. "Hinata, do you know when they learned it?"

"Naruto learned it before we entered the academy, and I'm sure that Sasuke picked it up from him during our first year." Hinata replied. "Ano…I learned it in our second year…It took me a while, but I had enough chakra for it."

"So all you need is enough chakra and you can do it?" Kiba asked excitedly. "If the dobe learned it before the academy then we should have no trouble! Right Akamaru?" Said dog barked from within Kiba's jacket. "Alright! Let's go see Mom and see if she'll teach us!" The canine shinobi and his partner leapt down the stairs and headed home.

"Did he hear the part about it being a chuunin level tecknique?" Shino asked Hinata after a moment of silence

"No."

"I thought so…"

"Well, you heard Naruto, we have to meet them at the west gate. Pack what you need for a two to three week mission." Kurenai said before shunshunning off.

"See you Shino-kun." Hinata smiled before shunshinning off.

"…Hai…"

XXX

Team 7 sans their jounin instructor stood at the west gate of Konoha with Tazuna.

"Where is everyone?" Naruto whined.

"They're coming." Sakura replied, extending her senses trying to feel Team 8 and Kakashi's approach.

In the three weeks Team 7 had been active, Naruto and Sasuke been training Sakura to sense a person's presence. Kakashi had unknowingly helped in this training. Team 7 met at least two hours before they knew Kakashi would show up. In that time, Sakura trained by attempting to find or locate Naruto and Sasuke while the boys used progressively more advanced techniques to hide themselves. In this training, they would periodically pause and teach the soon to be kunoichi the stealth jutsus they used to hide from her. As she learned and advanced, her training shifted from detecting and locating the boys to attepting to sneak up on them and ambush them. Needless to say she failed to surprise them, but she could now hide herself as well as a rookie chuunin and could sense shinobi with mid-chuunin abilities.

"When will sensei be here?" Sakura whined as the Jounin appeared. "He's going to be late. I know it."

'Sniff…Sniff…' Kakashi made his presence 'known' to his sweet little genin team. "How could you think so poorly of me…I'm always on time."

"LIAR!" Naruto and Sakura shouted.

In Sakura's training, she had to start to complain about the tardyness of their sensei when she first detected him. It was a hidden way for the boys to measure how much she was improving, and it was a good way of practicing deception. If they could fool someone who knew them fairly well, then they would have no problem fooling a complete stranger or enemy. Kakashi's side of the training focused on building up Sakura's control and chakra capacity, while Naruto and Sasuke worked on increasing their ninjutsu proficiency and increasing the number of techniques they knew. Kakashi couldn't go and teach them jutsus that were at their true level without all of Konoha getting mighty suspicious. Instead he utilized the jutsus that he had copied over his years as an ANBU and Jounin to teach the boys D and C rank jutsus while throwing in the occasional B-rank in their element. It allowed the two to gain an important, solid base or options that they didn't have before. It also helped them increase their reserves, while leaning jutsus that could save them precious chakra. If one needed a long-range fire based attack and you had two katon ninjutsu one B-rank, the other C-rank, the C-rank will still do the job and cost less chakra.

"Can we practice while we are walking?" Sasuke asked. "It's going to take a long time if we travel at a civilian pace and we might as well use the time well."

"You sure seem in a rush to train…" Kakashi actually removed a hand from his orange book in order to stroke his chin as if to think. "But unfortunately training would only take away from your combat readiness, so you're going to stay on guard the entire time."

"Aww…" Naruto whined and pouted. "I wanted to start a bunch of forest fires…" Everyone sweatdropped.

Team 7 awekwardly waited at the gate waiting for Tazuna and Team 8 to arrive. They idelly chatted and kicked stones, ate ramen, ogled Sasuke, ignored the ogling, and read a perverted novel. (I think you can guess who did what from that list.)

Team 8 was first to arrive. Kurenai had a pack slung over one shoulder, Hinata had on a vest that looked similar to a chuunin's with storage scrolls tucked into pouches, Kiba had a large pack weighing him down and lastly Shino was dressed normally, with no visable scrolls or baggage to suggest he was carrying anything with him in excess of his standard shinobi gear. "Sorry, we are late, but we had to drag Kiba out of his house because he was trying to beg his mother to teach him the shunshin." Kurenai appologised for her team.

"You're getting almost as good as me!" Kakashi chirped from over his book, giving the kunoichi a patented eye smile. "You might want to let dog boy get his scratches first before dragging him out. That might give more credibility to your story."

"Kakashi-sensei, what Kurenai-sensei said is correct, however we should look for our client seeing as he is already fifteen minutes late." Hinata spoke up.

"Alright." Kakashi closed his book. "I think I know where to look." He shunshinned off and was back in less than a minute with a drunken Tazuna holding onto a bottle of sake as if his life depended on it. "Well, now that everyone is here, I think we can go." Kakashi cheerfully smiled and signed the two teams out at the guard post.

XXX

"This is sooooo boring!" Naruto whined as they plodded along the dirt road to Wave. "I want to train!"

"Don't waste your chakra, Naruto." Kakashi admonished. "If we run into anyone, you will need to have that chakra available."

"But I've got more chakra than you sensei!" Naruto retorted, earning a snort of disbelief from Kiba, a raised eyebrow from Shino, and a comment from Kurenai.

"Would you mind showing us Naruto?" The Kunoichi asked. "It's not everyday that you find a genin with Elite Jounin chakra levels.

"Naruto, I already know that you and Sasuke beat me in chakra capacity, but you don't want to draw unwanted attention to ourselves." The male jounin flipped to the next page in his book and giggled. "You wouldn't want Jounin-level missing nins to come after us because you flare your chakra crazily?"

"But I wanna fight!" Naruto whined. "I bet Sasuke and Hinata-chan wanna fight!"

Hinata and Sasuke nodded. The consequence from doing high-ranked missions for long periods of time is that during your down periods you get ichy for a fight. You can only stand that for so long before you snap.

"Hey!" Kiba shouted. "I want to fight too, but Jounin aren't exactly what Akamaru and I had in mind!"

"Don't you think you're over estimating your abilities?" Kurenai asked. "Genin don't fight Jounin."

"And that's why they will win." Kakashi smiled. "A Jounin will underestimate them and will fall into their trap and die."

"Speaking from experience Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked with a smirk.

"Hmmm?" Kakashi looked up from his book. "You say something Naruto?"

"DAMN IT!" The blonde vented his anger on a puddle that happened to be on the side of the road. He stomped around and basically soaked himself and making mud, when suddenly the puddle disappeared and two shinobi lay knocked out on the ground, with bumps covering their heads and faces. The only recognizable features were their slashed mist forehead protectors and a set of clawed gauntlets connected with a chain. "Woah…oops." Naruto scratched the back of his head while he giggled.

"Those are the demon brothers of the mist." Sasuke spoke up, earning the attention of everyone in the group. He held a Bingo book in his hand similar to how Kakashi held his little orange book. "They got a bounty of two million together, half million individually."

"That was kinda lame." Sakura said from Sasuke's side.

"What the hell is this?" Kiba demanded. "You just got lucky mega time!"

"HAHAHAHA!" Naruto laughed loudly. "You're just mad that I was able to beat two chuunin missing nin singlehandedly!"

"As if!" Kiba retorted. "You're just the dobe and got super lucky."

"Naruto-kun is pleanty capable of dealing with two jokes like them." Hinata defended her blonde friend. "You would lose in seconds if he fought you seriously, Kiba-kun."

"Yeah right!" Kiba scoffed.

While the Genin were argueing about everything and nothing, Kakashi and Kurenai were having a whispered conversation to one side.

"Kinda strange that those two would be here all by themselves." Kakashi commented over his orange book as Kurenai finished tieing them up. "The Bingo books states that they are usually with another mist missing-nin."

"Right, so we should expect more shinobi of a higher rank." Kurenai stated. "Shouldn't we head back? This is clearly a B-rank mission."

"You can turn back if you feel that your team will not be able to go on safely." Kakashi replied. "My team is pleanty capable of taking me on, so I'm sure that they could go on."

"You place a lot of trust in them." Kurenai said.

"They have earned it." Kakashi replied. "I don't want to pressure you into making a decision, but Team 7 will keep going on. You could get a high rank mission under your team's belt with Team 7 helping you. There is safetly in numbers."

"Alright, fine we're going on." Kurenai made her decision.

XXX

**Wooot! Chapter over and School's almost out for us seniors!**

**Anyway, Zabuza shows up next chapter and the mission in wave will continue!**

**Read and review like always, I listen to what you have to say, so don't worry if something goes unadressed immidiatly. Bringing it up will put it into the front of my mind and let me figure out how it will be incorperated into the story.**

**Peace out**

**~Cyberviper42~**


	19. Chapter 19: AHHHH! KAKASHI SENSEI!

**Here's to chapter 19! We're finally over 100k words and 300 reviews! WOOOOOHOOOOO! **

**Sorry about the long wait for this chapter, life's kinda been stressed lately and I wanted some time to relax before getting back into writing.**

Chapter 19: AHHHHH! KAKASHI SENEI!

"There's nothing to do…" Naruto whined as he dragged a hand in the water. They were on a small boat that should really only be holding five or six people. Kakashi and Kurenai were water walking with Hinata next to the boat to allow the boat's freeboard to be more than a couple of centimeters. Kiba's eyes had bugged out when he watched Hinata step onto the water. Naturally he stepped onto the surface believing that if a girl could do it, then so could he. Naturally he fell in up to his neck and was spouting water when he surfaced. Needless to say, he was confined to the boat.

"You could read some of the jutsu scrolls I so kindly got you." Kakashi eye smiled at him. "You know how hard it was for me to dig through my library to find that one for you."

"Right." Naruto monotonly replied. "Sure. Next time use more effort in coming up with your lies."

"Naruto-kun, could I see that scroll for a minute?" Kurenai asked kindly.

"Sure, I guess so." Naruto tossed the scroll to the jounin instructor not caring whether if fell into the water or not. If the kunoichi's rank was awarded properly, she would have no problem in catching it, which she did.

Kurenai unrolled the scroll a little to read the first few lines before her eyebrows shot to the top of her forehead and she quickly scanned through the rest of the scroll. "Kakashi?"

"Hmmm?"

"Why did you give this to Naruto?" Kurenai demanded. "No genin no matter how strong you may think they are is capable of learning or even utilizing these jutsus!"

"Naruto and Sasuke can." Kakashi replied lazily, not looking at Kurenai as he continued to walk on the water and read his book. "They should be able to handle a B-rank ninjutsu or two."

"These are mostly A-rank!" Kurenai growled. Kiba and Shino looked surprised at her words and then glanced at Naruto and Sasuke. Hinata and Sakura weren't surprised. Sakura was used to them learning those types of jutsus while Hinata knew that these low-rank jutsus wouldn't be an issue for the two members of Team Kitsune.

"Barely A-rank." Kakashi corrected her. "They're really just glorified B-ranks raised because they were a little challenging to learn. Besides with the Chuunin exams sometime this season, I want my team to be as prepared as possible."

"B-But we just learned the tree climbing exercise last week!" Kiba exclaimed. "There's no way that those three," He pointed at Team 7, "are ready for chuunin level techniques!"

"I agree with Kiba-san's statement." Shino spoke up in a low tone. "There is a reason that those jutsus are ranked the way they are, and no genin, in theory, should be capable of using them."

"Ano…" Sakura looked slightly nervous. "Well…Sasuke-kun and Naruto-kun taught me most of what I have learned since the academy." She gained confidence as she continued on. "Kakashi-sensei has been working on increasing my chakra capacity while teaching me lower level jutsus."

"Right." Naruto continued where the pink haired girl left off. "Sasuke and I have been mostly working on elemental ninjutsu but we're working on our control and mastery of each technique before moveing onto learning a new one."

"Hn." Sasuke agreed. "We use Kage Bunshins to help learn them faster."

"Kage Bunshin?" Shino asked. "How is that different from the Bushin we learned in the academy?"

"It's solid, and you learn whatever it learns when it dispels." Naruto replied.

"It's also a kinjutsu." Kurenai frowned. "What have you been teaching them Kakashi?"

"Actually Itachi taught them that when they were in the academy." Kakashi looked up from his book, indicating that he was serious about it.

"Why is it a kinjutsu, Kurenai-sensei?" Kiba asked. "Sounds like a dead useful jutsu! You sould teach it to us!"

"I will do no such thing, Kiba-kun." Kurenai replied harshly. "It's a kinjutsu because it's a jounin level jutsu that equally divides a person's chakra into each clone. Imagine a jutsu that could leave you with only a tenth of you chakra in you body in one go."

"Most people can't handle the shock, and others don't have the chakra to do it to make it useful in combat or in the field." Kakashi continued explaining more about the jutsu. "Personally, I can only make fifty when at full strength, by blondie over there can only make a couple of thousand when he get's serious."

"ONLY MAKE ?" Kurenai exploded.

"Shinobi-san! I'm not running the engine in order to minimize noise!" The man driving the boat shushed the kunoichi. "Your shouting is doing the exact opposite of that."

"Gomen." Kurenai replied softly before turning to Kakashi. "Explain."

"You should understand that I'm no ordinary shinobi." Naruto spoke up cryptically. "There's only nine shinobi truly like me in the world."

Kurenai didn't reply. The remainder of the boat ride was silent.

XXX

The path to Tazuna's house left the village and wandered through a light forest paralleling the shore. It was a plesent walk and would have lulled the team of shinobi into becoming off guard, but Barely five minutes out of the village, Sakura's eyes widened before she composed her visage. She skipped up to Kakashi who was leading the goup.

"Pst, Kakashi-sensei!" Kakashi leaned over to listen to what Sakura had to say. "Two jounin-level shinobi traveling together, paralleling us inland or an intercept course ETA a minute."

"Hmmm…I don't think I understand, Sakura." He flipped a page in his book. "Why should we stop for a break when Tazuna's house is so close?"

"Oh!" Sakura played along. "I didn't know." She waited for the rest of the group to come up before joining Sasuke and Naruto. "You sense them?" She asked in whisper.

"Thirty seconds before you did." Sasuke replied in a whisper. "Considering that they were suppressing they chakra and presences, you did very well. Be prepared."

"Hai."

The goup walked for a minute before they came to a small clearing that the trail ran through with the shore thirty meters away. Suddenly Naruto whipped a kunai out of his holster and threw it violently into the underbrush. "THERE!"

Every shinobi present spun to face where Naruto had hurled his weapon. They, the jounin and Team Kitusne and Sakura, felt the usage of chakra but couldn't pin point where it was. Sakura tentively moved forward and parted the bushes to reveil a snow white rabit.

'Kawimari' Everyone but Kiba thought.

"GET DOWN!" Kakashi shouted as he pulled tazuna down, hoping that the warning he gave the squad would be enough to be avoid the giant sword whirling around above their heads.

"Woah!" Naruyto shouted. "This is a cool sword!"

Kakashi looked up to get his bearings and saw Naruto playing with a sword. To be precise, he was playing with a sword that was at least twice as tall as he was. The weapon must have weighed as much as 40 kilograms (88 lbs ppl) but the blonde genin swung it through a series of practice swings as if it were a katana.

"Oi! Missing nin!" Naruto shouted getting even more of the attention of the Jounin. "You're Momochi Zabuza aren't you? Jounin level missing nin from Kiri and a member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, former Kiri black ops, known to have a young acomplise also Jounin level."

"Where did you find all that info?" The masked missing nin demanded while launching at the blonde attempting to get his sword back, but Naruto sidestepped bringing down the Zambato on the shinobi, one millisecond later Zabuza had kicked Naruto in the wrist, causing him to drop the blade or risk breaking his wrist or forearm. In the next instant that Zabuza reclaimed his sword, Naruto had leaped out of his massive reach and skidded to a stop, panting slightly.

"If you wanted to know you could have simply asked!" Naruto smiled. "You'd be surprised what Konoha knows about high level missing nins."

"No genin should have access to information like that." Zabuza stated as he leveled his sword at Kakashi. "Quite an interesting squad you got there Copy nin Kakashi, but I'm not here to chit chat. Hand over the old man and we can all be on our merry way."

"I'm sorry, but we cannot let that happen." Kakashi said as he pulled two kunai from his holster and settled into a stance with the weapons held in a reverse grip.

"A pity." Zabuza tensed his stance before shunshunnining to the water side and flipped through a series of hand seals. "Kirigakure no jutsu!" Mist flowed up from the water and flowed over the land thickening as it moved. It was unnatural at best and with the silence, it was just plain creepy. Kakashi revelealed his sharingan as he flipped up his forehead protector.

Out of nowhere, Sasuke jumped next to Kakashi with Naruto a appearing a moment later of the jounin's other side. Sakura pulled a set of shuriken from her holsters and set herself ten meters back behind the rest of Team 7. Team 8 fanned out around Tazuna with Hinata confidently in the front and Shino and Kiba flanking her. Kurenai moved parallel with Kakashi and began to cast genjutsu around her to hide her presence.

'You take right, I take left, Kakashi takes middle and engages first.' Sasuke signaled with ANBU handsignals that the former ANBU Captain immediately recognized. Kakashi translated the ANBU signals to Kurenai in standard Jounin handsignals. Even though Kurenai was concealed, her genjutsu were penetraited by Kakashi's sharingan.

'Take up position next to Sakura and help in long range support.' Kakashi instructed the rookie Jounin. 'Be wary of a second acomplis and take her out if possible.'

Once the mist was too thick to see though clearly, Zabuza's voice echoed through the clearing. "Eight vital points…" He applied a thick layer of killing intent, paralyzing everyone for a slightest moment. Immidatly Team Kitsune and the Jounin added their own killing intent to alieveate the paralyzing affects, but Kiba and Shino were still shaking in their clothes. Tazuna was simply stuck in place and even if he wanted to move a slightest bit, the combined killing intent of six jounin level shinobi was simply too much for the old civilian.

"I could kill you with a single tap, and you'd never know you were dead until you met the shinigami and-"

"Yeah, Yeah…" Naruto shouted out, interrupting Zabuza's monologue. "You can kill us. Big deal. Like no one else in the world can kill us!" Naruto breathed in deeply as he flipped through a set of handseals. "Futon: Diatoppa!" A huge ball of compressed air shot from Naruto's mouth and started to blow the mist away.

"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!" Sasuke's attack wasn't noticed when the blonde began his, but the large fireball intercepted with the wind attack making a huge fireball that superheated the mist into a searing sauna. Due to the Futon: Diatoppa, the mist had been forced towards Zabuza's side of the battlefield and as a result, induced more damage from the combinded elemental attacks and steam. When the mist cleared away, Zabuza's skin was bright red and he was steaming near the shoreline.

"Damn you little pests." The missing nin growled. Kakashi charged throwing one of his kunai at Zabuza, who simply blocked it with his massive blade and then charged to make mincemeat out of the copy nin. They clashed blades creating a shower of sparks, but Kakashi quickly stabbed the missing nin, only to have him turn into a pile of water. A giant blade cut through the Konoha Jounin, who turned into a puddle.

"That was rather anti-climatic." Sasuke commented. "They're both using clones and this is never going to end. Neither is very proficient at using them."

"Yeah, they're wasting a lot of chakra making single clones." Naruto commented. "Better to make a lot of clones and simply swarm the guy."

Kakashi was currently dodging the massive blade of the missing nin, trying desperately to keep possession of his head which he loved so very much to remain attached to his neck. Retreating towards the water, he realized his mistake too late when Zabuza completed a set of handseals and the water came up and surrounded him, completely trapping him within an orb. Zabuza stood there with one hand touching the water, the other making a half ram seal to mold enough chakra to form five mizu bunshins.

"Damn it!" Kurenai swore uncharactaristicaly as she wove together a genjutsu to hold the clones and swordsman in place.

When Zabuza felt the genjutsu pulling at his senses he began to laugh. "You really don't know anything about my technique. Genjutsu is useless against me." The nearest clone formed a half ram seal and tapped the swordsman on the forehead to disrupt his chakra flow and dispelled the genjutsu.

"Fuck."

"Your illusions will be no good against him Kurenai-sensei." Sasuke stated, his eyes never leaving the clones, orb and the real Zabuza.

"He's got a flaw in his jutsu." Naruto stated, earning disbelieving looks from all of Team 8 sans Hinata. "Notice that the original Zabuza has yet to 'let go' of the sphere holding Kakashi sensei. If my theory is correct, then all Zabuza can do is make clones to defend himself. He's immobile."

"So what do we do?" Kiba demanded. "We can't just sit here all day!"

"Kiba, Shino, Kurenai-sensei." Hinata ordered the three memberes of the team. "Guard Tazuna. We cannot let him get in the way. Sakura you're the sensor of the group. We need you to tell us if the original switches with a clone. I won't be able to distinguish the differences with my Byakugan in combat, so you hang back near the others and do your thing. If you sense him move, yell out to us immediately. If you even think he moved, tell us, because he probably did."

"But you're just genin!' Kurenai exclaimed. "You won't stand a chance!"

"Yes we will." Naruto replied. "A water clone is only one tenth as strong as the original, and it's not like we have to beat him, we just gotta disrupt his jutsu that's holding Kakashi-sensei."

"Okay, Hinata take right, Naruto take left, and I've got the middle." Sasuke organized the assault team in seconds and they were off.

XXX

Haku observed the showdown between Zabuza-sama and the Konoha nin. Once the masked Jounin was captured, she felt much better about the whole situation. He was the legendary copy nin Hatake Kakashi, an elite jounin who could take on seemingly insurmountable foes and come out on top. The Bingo book offered a 60 million ryo bounty on his head, although it was mostly for his eye, it still indicated that he was the strongest one there.

XXX

Hinata charged straight towards the water clones on the right side of the clearing, and slipped into a gentle fist stance than allowed her to quickly move from opponent to opponent. She positioned herself inbetween two clones and promptly jabbed them in several vital spots with chakra infused fingers. Her juken techniques quickly left the clones unstable and they dissolved into puddles of water.

At the same time that Hinata was mowing down the clones, Naruto and Sasuke were attacking the remaining three clones with their own styles. Naruto simply spammed clones and executed the simple academy taijutsu style with perfection that hadn't been seen from the blonde in all his years as a student in the academy. He was able to swarm two clones while Sakura picked them off from near Kurenai with shuriken. Having to consentrate on the blonde clones, the water clones couldn't sense the incoming weaponry.

Sasuke simply used his clan's katon ninjutsu to melt away at the clone and then use the Uchiha clan's interceptor fist to pummel the clone into a puddle of water.

Zabuza didn't waste time being awed by the fact that four genin were tearing through _his_ clones as if they were nothing. Before the last clone fell, he formed the half ram seal again and created twenty water clones, severly taxing his chakra reserves. These twenty clones only lasted a little longer than the original five, but it gave the missing nin time to divise a strategy, however crude it may have been. Using his free hand, the missing nin took his blade and stabbed into the sphere of water he was supporting with this right hand. When he stopped moving his sword, it was 'gently' resting under Kakashi's masked chin.

Sasuke, Hinata and Naruto pasued after defeating all the clones to see the Konoha Jounin's life in danger. "Don't move." Zabuza growled mennecingly. "Move and he dies."

"Okay!" Naruto sat down cross-legged and motioned for the other two genin to do so as well. "Sakura!"

Zabuza looked back towards the group to see the aptly named pink haired girl unleash a hail of metal all around the missing nin. As soon as he saw that none of them were aimed at him, he started to laugh. "That's your plan? You're just wasting your weapons. You are still going to die slo—" Before Zabuza finished his sentence, Sakura drew another handful of weaponry and hurled them into the still airborne weapons, deflecting them in a classic Uchiha style. "Shit!" Zabuza had to make a split second decision before being impaled by the weak looking girl's weapons. Either he killed Kakashi and maybe got away, or he left kakashi and moved him into the path of the weapons as he escaped. With one hand occupied by the entrapment jutsu and the other holding his blade, there was no way he could deflect the weapons. Opting for the second option, Zabuza released Kakashi and fled.

XXX

"Zabuza-sama!" Haku dropped from a higher branch and landed, running next to her master. "Are you alright?"

"It was a bunch of kids!" The former swordsman of the mist growled, angry at himself.

"Don't worry, Zabuza-sama." Haku replied. "They just had a couple of talented kids who you underestimated and got trapped. All you have to do next time is treat them as Kakashi."

"Meaning we'll need all the manpower we can get." Zabuza replied. "Have you made contact with the Demon Brothers?"

Haku shook his head negatively. "They haven't checked in since makin contact with the Konoha shinobi. Unless the group from Konoha picked up their pace after meeting them, they were not retarted by the Brothers in the slightest, indicating that the ambush was reversed, or the Genin are far stronger than they appear to be."

"They didn't use any fance techniques except for the blonde one." Zabuza replied. "He was using the shadow clone ninjutsu like it was a d-rank jutsu."

"What's so special about the kage bunshin no jutsu?" haku inquired.

"It's an A-rank technique that divides a person's chakra evenly into every clone." Zabuza replied. "That gaki made probably fifty clones in intervals. At the end of that battle he probably had one percent of his starting chakra, and yet he looked like he could still fight on further."

"Amazing!" Haku exclaimed. "A normal shinobi can't get lower than five percent of their chakra without suffering from severe chakra exhaustion. He's got to have Kage level reserves!"

"The only way someone his age could have that amount of chakra is if he was trained from birth to be the ultimate shinobi, or he's a jinchuuriki."

"A jinchuuriki?" Haku asked, not knowing what the word ment.

"It's a person who has one of the nine biju sealed inside of them." Zabuza replied. "If he is indeed a jinchuuriki, then he'd have the Kyuubi no Yoko in him. It attacked Konoha around twelve years ago, which is probably around when he was born."

"Do we still go through with this or find a safer job?" Haku asked, slightly worried about their safety. "I mean they've taken out the Demon Brothers, and got the copy nin, and those really good genin. I'm also only really good when facing one or two strong opponents."

"Haku." Zabuza coldly barked. "I do not accept excusses."

"Hai! Zabuza-sama!"

XXX

The trip from the battlefield to Tazuna's house was mind numbingly quiet. Once the adrenaline had left the three novice genin they began to realize just how much of a gap existed between them and the unknown members of Team Kitsune, and their jounin senseis. As soon as the genin had secured the house and set up a parimeter, one team on duty, the other off duty and inside the house, Kakashi and Kurenai went off into the woods for a chat.

"There's no way Naruto and Sasuke are genin." Kurenai stated flat out when they stopped to talk. "Sakura is probably closer to Chunin than rookie genin, and Hinata is just as good as your boys."

"Naruto and Sasuke were never genin level under my tutalage." Kakashi replied. "Sasuke already has his sharingan to at least two tomes, possibly three. I haven't been able to confirm that because I spotted him using it while training with the team when they were alone. Unfortunatly he sensed me before I could get my sharingan out, and I could defiantly make out two in both eyes, but they were spinning pretty fast and I couldn't get the best look that I wanted. He's got the intercepter fist mastered better that Itachi did at his age, and has got most of Konoha's katon ninjutsus in his repetoir. Granted that I added about half of them myself, but he is more a jounin than chuunin. The thing he lacks the most like Naruto is breadth in their repetoirs, only knowing a few jutsus from each element not common to Konoha."

"What about Sakura?" Kurenai demanded. "Sounds like you've been putting most of your time into the boys."

"Actually, Sakura's gotten more than twice the hours from me that Naruto and Sasuke have gotten combined." Kakashi admitted. "It's just that Naruto and Sasuke don't need me to supervise their ninjutsu practice. I give them the handseals and the general idea to mold their chakra and they go off and work on it. Sakura spends about two or three hours working on her chakra control and building her reserves by tree and water walking. Then she's got an hour running or doing pushups and situps. After that it's mission time and then we get back for an hour and do teamwork exercises."

"That's hard to believe." Kurenai replied. "What have you been trying to make Sakura into? I noticed that she was amazing with kunai and shuriken back there."

"That would be Sasuke and Naruto's influence on her." Kakashi admitted. "They've been teaching her complex Uchiha weapon techniques that would normally require a sharingan to utilze, but with her smarts she's able to estimate where they will fly and calculate on the fly how to throw her second set of weapons. Based on her reactions on the trip, I'm sure that she is also being taught to sense chakra singnatures and how to track them."

"Hinata stated that she was the group's sensor before she and your team attacked Zabuza." Kurenai added. "That means that she's in the loop with your team."

"You'd kinda expect that childhood friends will share things like info on teammates." Kakashi nonchalantly replied. "Those three have been friends since before they entered the academy. Who knows how strong they really are."

"Itachi spent some time training them didn't he?" Kurenai asked and saw the masked jounin nod in affirmation. "Considering that they had the best of the Uchiha and Hyuuga clans looking after their trainging, it's somewhat conserning that they even bothered to go through all four years of the academy when they could have graduated in something like a year or less."

"They could have, but in reality it made them stronger to wait." Kakashi lazily replied. "Granted they are genus level kids, but they had three years of pure training, no missions, to get better during their academy years."

"I guess thamt makes sense, but speaking of getting better, how are we going to handle Zabuza's threat to Tazuna's safety?" Kureanai asked worried about her other two students. "Kiba and Shino are going to need training if they are going to have any sort of a chance of surviving."

"True." Kakashi sighed and looked at the clouds as they floated slowly overhead. "With Hinata, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura revealing some of their abilities, Zabuza cannot overlook them in this planning. He'll have to get some manpower in order to combat us. That could either be easy or hard to come by, but either way, it buys us some time that we can use to train the rest of your team."

"Kiba and Shino know the tree climbing exercise, so I was thinking on starting them on the water walking exercise." Kurenai stated her thoughts. "Since we're probably going to be fighting near or on water given our location and Zabuza's affinities, it will be a usefull thing to know."

"Agreed." Kakashi nodded. "You take Sakura, Kiba and Shino and work with them on the water walking technique and give them some ninjutsu to help them. It doesn't have to be anything fancy, just enough to slow a stronger enemy down a little to create an opening."

"That's not very resuring." Kurenai commented. She didn't like the idea of sacrificing anyone or putting them into situations that were practically hopeless for them.

"It isn't like we have the luxury of having an ANBU unit on call for when we need them." Kakashi replied. "Kiba and Shino will have to guard Tazuna, leaveing the rest of us to fight."

"They won't like that, having to sit the last battle out." Kurenai said thinking specifically about Kiba.

"Tough shit." Kakashi snorted. "We don't have to cater to their whims when we're trying to keep them alive. They'd better get used to fighting in situations over their head so they can stay alive in the future."

"If they don't get killed." Kurenai muttered under her breath but Kakashi heard her.

"They're facing a situation similar to the Third Shinobi war, when freshly graduated genin were sent on mission that chuunin or jounin squards would normally take, simply because they were the only ones that were available." Kakashi's single visable eye hardedned as her remembered the harsh realities that he had to face as a child, barely seven years old, in the middle of the biggest war the shinobi villages had ever known. "I don't care what they think, but it's better that they don't have to any fighting. If possible we'll take on Zabuza and the genin won't have to get involved."

"So we're training them to guard Tazuna and any jutsu we teach them will be to get our attention and buy them a little time." Kurenai realized where the masked jounin's seemingly illogical statements came from.

"Precisly." Kakashi turned back towards the house. "Now if my nose isn't telling me liew, dinner is being served."

With that the two leaf jounin took off through the forest trees and made their way back to Tazuna's.

XXX

"Hah!" Gato smirked as he looked at Zabuza and his apprentice Haku. "Some demon you turned out to be! Here I imagined that you could take on a couple of whimpy shinobi from leaf and get your job over with."

"Your information was wrong." Zabuza glared at his employer. "You said that there was only going to be one team of gennin, but there were two."

"So?" Gato didn't seem overly conserned with the mix up. "Four, eight genin shouldn't be a problem for you."

"You fucking think that a shinobi village sends out teams of all genin?" Zabuza roared. "There's always a jounin sensei. Make two teams, that's two jounins, throw in the three or four Chuunin or Jounin level genin and the fact that Hatake Kakashi the copy nin is one of the jounin senseis and you got yourself a big fuckin problem!"

"So you can't complete this assignment." Gato concluded preparing to motion for his guards to kill the missing nin. A bounty as large as Zabuza's wasn't going to simply walk away from the corrupt man.

"I can complete the assignment if Haku and I only have to worry about the jounin senseis." Zabuza replied. "All I need is a bunch or rounin or a few genin or chuunin missin nins and I'll have the manpower I need."

"You can have the thugs that hang around the docks sucking on my bank accounts." Gato smirked. "Be sure to do me a favor and make sure that not all of them come back. They can get so expensive at times."

"We'll wait a couple of days before pulling the op to ware at their nerves." Zabuza smirked. "It isn't easy to stay alert 24/7 and not get tired. The longer we wait, the more jumpy and unable to think straight they'll become, and that will give us an advantage."

"Excellent." Gato grinned. "Just make sure that you don't take too long. I hate to be kept waiting."

XXX

**Dun Dun Dun DUUUUNNN! Zabuza's got a new trick to try on the Konoha shinobi in this arc!**

**Hoope you all liked this chapter, thanks to all of you who reviewed and who WILL REVIEW!**

**Peace**

**~Cyberviper42~**


	20. Chapter 20: Extracurricular in Nami

**I'm back and I've got another action packed chapter of Together or Alone. Hurah! Sorry about the long wait, but life gets busy.**

**Just a little note, the chapter does get a little violent and graphic so be aware.**

**Thanks to everyone out there who has read this story! I'm proud to announce that we have topped 100k hits! WOOT!**

**READ AND REVIEW!**

Chapter 20: Extracurricular Activity in Nami.

"Kurenai-sensei?" Sakura paused in her training and turned to the older kunoichi. Kiba and Shino were training on the other side of the sizable clearing the four of them were practicing in.

"Yes Sakura?" Kurenai replied.

"How good is Hinata really?" Sakura asked. "I mean back then she was just as good as Naruto and Sasuke-kun, and they were holding back a ton in the academy."

Kurenai sat down and motioned for Sakura to sit as well. "Just by looking at her you can tell that she holds back. Given that she is the Hyuuga Heir, she has without a doubt been trained in addition to the academy. She is a kind girl and I believe that she is trying to make Kiba and Shino more comfortable and less like how you felt when you first saw how good your teammates were."

"I'd put her at high genin or low chuunin from what I've seen her do." Kurenai stated softly. "I'd place your teammates at mid chuunin which is absolutely astounding considering that they've just graduated."

"What about me?" Sakura asked, timidly, not quite sure if she wanted to hear Kurenai's honest answer.

"You're mid to high genin overall, but your chakra sensory and weapons precision is chuunin or above." Kurenai smiled. "You were very lucky to get three good senseis. Sasuke and Naruto didn't have to put so much effort into getting you to there level, especially after they had so desperately wanted to be on the same team with Hinata. In the end you were better off on Team 7 than anyother team."

"Thank you Kurenai-sensei." Sakura smiled feeling slightly better about herself and how she was doing since leaving the academy.

"OI! Kurenai-sensei!" Kiba shouted across the clearing. "Can we take a brake? Akamaru and I are wiped out!"

Kurenai glanced at the sun, checking it's postion in the sky before replying; "Sure it's about lunch time anyway, so let's all get something to eat."

XXX

"Tazuna-san's discription of Nami is quite accurate." Sasuke stated to his two teammates. Naruto and Hinata were perched on tree limbs opposite the raven-haired boy. They had spent the morning doing recon around the village and the neighboring islands. Everywhere they traveled, they saw the influence of Gato's tyranny and evil.

"It's pretty much the same everywhere we went." Naruto stated. "Gato's the driving factor in the unemployment, crime, and poverty. Simply put he's threatening Konoha's supply lines through Nami and must be dealt with."

"So we're staging an unauthorized assassination of probably the weathiest man east of Suna." Hinata spoke up about the legality of the 'mission' within the mission that they were considering."

"If you look at the wording that Ojii-san used in our mission is to protect Tazuna-san during his travels and while he completes his bridge. Gato doesn't want the bridge and had already sent nuke-nins after the Old Drunk. With the amount of thugs laying around the area it stands to reason that Gato will hire them to kill Tazuna-san should the nuke-nins not succeed in their mission."

"So if we take out Gato and the thugs he has, then Tazuna is safe." Sasuke thought it over. "It's justifiable." He concluded after a moment's thought. "When?"

"The sooner the better." Hinata replied. "It's best to take care of a problem before it happens to grow into a more troublesome situation."

"Taking after Shika, eh Hinata?" Naruto grinned and wiggled his eyebrows sugestively.

"Oh shut up Naruto!" Hinata glared at the blonde with her Clan's patented death glare.

"Ma ma just joking! Shesh!" Naruto pouted. "You take everything way too seriously."

"Joking aside, Naruto," Sasuke interrupted before anything could happen. " We still need to plan this op carefully. Even Anbu need to be conserned about an army of thugs."

"Not when we've got an army of Anbu!" Naruto boasted and formed the cross seal needed for the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, but didn't mold any chakra.

"Good point." Sasuke admitted that the blonde's practically infinite chakra reserves did come in handy more times than not. "You'll be incharge of taking out the non shinobi guards around his person."

"I'll take recon and mission updates along with ranged precision attacks." Hinata volunteered. Their places on the team were pretty well cemented but it never hurt to reitorate what their roles were going to be in the upcoming assault. "When the thugs are eliminated I'll move in and secure any financial or human assets that Gato has _collected…_" She spat out the word, showing her disgust at the human trafficking that she had seen during her recon.

"My job will to be to quietly eliminate any shinobi present, with the intent of not raising any alarms. I will go first with Hinata to obsurve and support. Should any noise be made then Naruto will run distraction for the thugs and keep the majority away from Gato." Sasuke's plan was effective and left plenty of room for flying by the seats of their pants, which Naruto liked to do in battle. Whatever strategies he instantly formulated were usually the most effective and worked out in the end.

"We'll need another day of recon on Gato's compound in order to get a lay of the land." Naruto stated. So far they had only seen it from the exterior and only briefly at that. It hadn't been a priority target on their list of recon objectives in the morning.

"We've already strayed a little too far from what Kakashi-sensei ordered us to do." Hinata said with concern in her voice. "It wouldn't be wise for us to attract any more attention from anywhere and risk exposure. We should head back and do whatever our senseis tell us to do."

"Awe!" Naruto swung his feet from the tree limb acting like a little child. "I was having so much fun! Can't we stay out a little longer Hinata-chan?"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Plea—"

"SHUT UP!" Sasuke punched Naruto's head into the tree limb, earning a releaved smile from Hinata. "We are going back to Tazuna's house, and that's final!"

"Hai…" Naruto moaned through a mouthful of wood splinters.

XXX

Inari watched as the Konoha shinobi gradually filed into his house in small groups. The ones who had been training with beautiful lady were clearly exhausted. The group that had gone out to get more information about the situation in Nami returned barely even looking winded. The one-eyed lazy shinobi returned with his grandfather safely.

"It's so good to see everyone in one piece!" Tsunami greeted the tired and not so tired shinobi. "I hope you're hungry! I made lots of food."

The woman's cooking skills were amazing to put things simply. She could turn barely edable ingredients into a delicious meal that would entice royalty (In Naruto's humble opinion). Condisering the products that the Nami venders were selling it was amzing that she was able to cook such a wonderful meal.

"Mmmmmm…Tsunami-san, you are an amazing cook!" Naruto smiled as he wolfed down the food infront of him as if there was no tomorrow.

"Thank you…" She humbly replied, slightly embarrassed that someone would find her food so good.

"So Naruto, what did you do this afternoon?" Sakura asked, trying to get a feeling for what the rest of her team was doing.

"Hmmm…" Naruto tapped his chin pretending to take a lot of time to remember what he had done. Everyone in the room above the age of twelve sweatdropped.

"It doesn't take a genius to remember what they were doing half an hour ago, Dobe." Sasuke resisted the urge to pummel the blonde jinchurriki into the ground.

"We were scouting the surrounding towns to see what the general situation in wave was and to gain a better understanding of the surrounding terrain." Naruto reported in a smooth voice as if he was used to delivering reports such as this. (Which he was, but only Team Kitsune knew about that.) "Gato's influence extends well beyond this village, and there is an unacceptable number of thugs and mercinarys floating around."

"There are several human trafficking centers, and the poverty levels all over is simply too high." Hinata added her observations.

"There also seems to be a large number of thugs under Gato's control and on his payroll, and an attack from them is far more lickly in my opinion than from Zabuza and his friend." Sasuke continued with his squad's report.

"That's quite an extensive recon job." Kurenai smiled. "You three did well."

"Hai."

"Thanks!

"…"

"Tomorrow why don't you keep an eye on Tazuna for me while I help the other three with their training." Kakashi suggested.

Team Kitsune glanced at eachother before Sasuke spoke up. "Actually, Kakashi-sensei, we were hoping to spend the night training. Is there any way we could take the afternoon shift in order to rest?"

"If you take this afternoon's shift." Kakashi smiled as he weasled out of yet another responsibility.

"Sure!" Naruto beamed. "We'll get the job done in no time with my help!" Sasuke and Hinata sighed. Sometimes they wanted to drag him to the hospital to get a psych evaluation.

"I swear he's bipolar." Hinata grumbled under her breath.

"Here here." Sasuke mumbled back.

XXX

"They're up to something Kakashi." Kurenai spoke up once Team Kitsune left and the remaining Genin were on their way back out to the training grounds. "They're doing a good job of covering it up, but you can tell they are hiding something."

"True, it's obvious that they are close and work well together, almost too well." Kakashi replied looking up from his porn. "They act more like a close knit ANBU squad when in 'mission mode' and less like rookie genin. Their level of teamwork has been honed to an almost psychic level."

"Isn't that going too far?" Kurenai looked at the masked jounin skeptically. "I mean they are just kids. You're just looking too deeply."

"No, that's exactly what they want you to think. They want you to underestimate them." Kakashi shot back. "Never underestimate a shinobi Kurenai, even your allies." Completely breaking the seriousness of the situation Kakashi flipped a page in his book. "Oh my!"

"So you think that they were off doing S-ranked missions in the academy?" Kurenai demanded, thinking that the Copy-nin was being unreasonable.

"No, I don't Hokage-sama would never do that, even if they were the best shinobi to ever set foot in Fire country. He isn't one to send child soldiers into hell known as S-ranks unless we are at war." Kakashi replied. "Seeing as we haven't been at war, I'd bet that they were just trained by Itachi to function together like an ANBU squad. Each of them knows their role on the team and does it knowing that the others will do their job and back them up."

"And being friends for so long helps them anticipate eachother, right?" Kurenai asked.

"More than likely." Kakashi admitted. "Also, Itachi is one of the best in the corps. He wouldn't hold back in any way if he was training them."

"So that's why they are so good for rookies." Kurenai concluded.

"No." Kakashi snapped his book closed. _That_ earned Kurenai's undivided attention. "They're holding back more than both of us think. You can see how they control their bodies well and hide it for the most part, but their eyes will always be paying attention to everything important, and sensing things that even chuunin shouldn't be able to detect."

"They're going to do something derastic aren't they." Kurenai didn't ask, she knew it, her gut had been telling her for some time, but only Kakashi's words and insight gave her seemingly unreasonable gut feeling reason.

"Their recon report would lead me to guess that they are going after Gato and his men." Kakashi stopped walking and looked into the clearing where Shino, Kiba and Sakura were training. "We will let them do what they want on that regard. We haven't forbidden them to do it, so they are simply following their mission orders to protect Tazuna-san, even if they have to take the fight to the enemy."

XXX

"This is an impressive bridge." Hinata admitted to the old drunk bridge builder as she surveyed the workers laboring on the massive construction project.

"Quite." Sasuke agreed with the girl. "It's hard to think that he would have such an impressive ability, given the way he acts around the house, but when he's here he's a different person."

The two shinobi observed their client working and marvled at how he ordered the workers around and could answer every single question that they had. He was the master architect and in total control.

"Oi!" Sasuke shouted out. "Naruto! Those stones need to go the end of the bridge." The blonde genin had made to bring them to the beginning rather than the end of the bridge when he was corrected.

"Roger!" Naruto acknoleged what the Uchiha had said and his clones followed him down the side of the bridge to the still unfinished end of the project. At this end workers were setting up scaffolding that they were taking down from newly completed sections of the structure. It saved a lot of money to only have enough to do small sections at a time, rather than have the convienence of keeping scaffolding on the entire bridge for the entire project.

"Do you think we should tell him that he's doing more work than all the laborors?" Hinata asked Sasuke.

"No, that would just make his ego inflate even more which could cause problems on our mission tonights." Sasuke replied. "We are doing it tonight right?"

"You kids should wait a while before you do that stuff." A random worker said as he walked by.

Hinata and Sasuke blushed knowing what he was referring to.

"Hai, we'll wait for night and do the final recon runs and then begin the op." Hinata was still blushing at what the man had said, but she quickly composed herself and forced her face to become normal again.

"So whatcha talking about?" Naruto asked as he came over, the rest of his clones still working and doing simple labor.

"The op." Sasuke replied. "We're going tonight."

"Gotcha, are we going with suppressors or just not going to use chakra?" Naruto asked yet another question. It was beginning to wear on the other boy.

"We are not attracting attention to ourselves or our ablities." Sasuke told the blonde. "Best case scinario is that no one knows that Gato is dead until they come to his mansion and see corpses strewn everywhere."

"That…that's kinda creepy Sasuke-kun." Hinata looked at the raven-haired Uchiha as if he was going mad.

"It will send a message to all the mindless thugs out there to stay away." Sasuke declaired. "Even a Neanderthal knows how to fear something that kills everyone without mercy."

"Fear is a tool to use to get what we want, which is no more trouble for Nami, but we have to be careful." Naruto said in an intelligent voice that was a complete 180 from his previous personality. "If we make it too gruesome, and it was discovered that we were responsible by Konoha or anyone else, it would cause problems for us. Ojii-san wouldn't be happy if we just massacre everyone that crosses our path."

"Record that Hinata." Sasuke ordered, earning a strange look from Naruto.

"Record what I said?" He asked, with a quizzical look. "Was my speech that important and life changing?"

"No you dobe!" Sasuke smacked Naruto in the head. "Nevermind what I said." Hinata flipped the notebook she had been writing in closed and sighed.

"Will you two shut up and do a patrol or something instead of fighting!" Hinata bashed both boys' skulls in, giving them a huge lump, swelling to the size of a fist.

"Hai Hinata-sama…" They groaned as the walked in separate directions to scout around the bridge.

"Ahhh…" Hinata sighed. "Peace and quiet. Finally."

XXX

"Oi!" Naruto hissed into his radio. "You done yet Black?"

"Black to Red." Sasuke's voice came over the airwaves. "_SHUT UP!"_

"White to Black and Red." Hinata entered the conversation. "Shut up and do your job. Twenty meters in front of you Black."

"Copy that White." Sasuke responded to Hinata's alert to another guard infront of him. He took him out with a simple shuriken to the jugular vein. With a spray of blood, coating the windows with a nearly opaque layer, the guard armed with a katana fell dead.

"Can I please go take them out?" Naruto begged. "I can do it real quiet like Black-teme."

"Negative Red." Hinata denied the blonde. "Stay in position."

If anyone was listening to the radio chatter that night on that particular frequency, they would have no clue what the people were talking about. Anyone but Hatake Kakashi that is. The masked elite Jounin of Konoha, the world renowned Copy-nin emotionlessly listened to the radio chatter on the Konoha ANBU Black Op Frequency. Naruto, Hinata and Sasuke all had distinctive voices and speech patterns that would have given away who they were to anyone who knew them.

Next to Kakashi was a tape recorder, slowly running a magnetic strip through the recorder forever documenting what was being said. "Who are you really?" He asked no one in particular.

XXX

"HELP! HELP! HELP! HELP!" A man ran through the streets or Nami, his hands and shirt bloodied and stained brown.

"What happened?"

"Are you hurt?"

"Who did this?"

"It's terrible!" The man collapsed in the center of town, falling to his knees, eyes wide. "A monster killed everyone." That got everyone's attention.

"Who? Who got killed?"

"Gato…" The man whispered.

"Who did Gato kill?"

"No…Gato's dead." Silence reigned in Nami's main village.

"We're free?"

"This is the answer to our dreams!" A person in the crowd shouted earning a shout of agreement from everyone else.

"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!" The bloody man shouted above the cheers, gaining the attention of the corwd once more. "Everyone is dead. Every single one of them is dead! Go see for yourself!"

XXX

Teams 7 and 8 were enjoying a delicious meal curtosy of Tsunami when they were rudly interrupted by a civilian bursting through the door. Immediately every shinobi was alert and standing, with weapons drawn ready to act at a moment's notice.

"Tazuna-san!" The villager shouted. "You have to come! Gato's dead!"

"What!" Tazuna shouted in surprise, spraying bits of food everywhere. "Zeke! Are you serious? When where how?"

"His house of all places!" Zeke replied. "Everyone of his guards were killed and he was nearly unrecognizable from everything that happened to him. It is pretty disturbing. You might want to stay home Tsunami-san."

"Thank you for the warning and your thoughtfulness, but I must see it with my own eyes." Tsunami replied. "Even if it is disgusting."

"Who killed him?" Kiba demanded.

"No one knows kid." Zeke answered. "Everyone in his mansion, even the dogs and cats were dead. The only people who survived were the ones who were taken by Gato and his men. One of them made it to town and delivered the news."

"Then they know who it was." Kiba replied. "I mean they must have seen them when the opened the cell doors."

"If you listened, then you would know that no one knows who did it and therefore you can deduct that the prisioner did not see who freed him." Shino spoke up for the first time in days, saying more than he had in one sitting than he had in the past week.

"Shino-kun is right Kiba-kun." Hinata reienforced Shino's statement when the Inuzuka looked like he was going to say more.

"We should go and see what happened to see if we can figure out who did it." Kurenai stated. "It sould be a new threat or something benign to us, but either way we should investigate. This will be an excellent training exercise for the six of you."

"Hai Kurenai-sensei."

XXX

"Do you smell anything Kiba?" The Jounin kunoichi asked.

"Yeah." Kiba retorted. "Blood, blood, and more blood. It's so overpowering that it would be amazing if even the best Inuzuka could smell any other scents." Akamaru was huddling inside Kiba's jacket whimpering at the intense smell of blood and insides. It was enough to make a human want to retch, but shinobi had to control their body's responces and none of the Konoha shinobi threw up, but some of them looked a little sick.

"You can smell where Naruto, Hinata, and Sasuke did their recon around the mansion upwind, but I can't tell anything else but that." Kiba admitted.

"Perhaps Zabuza did this." Shino suggested. "He has a history of violent bloodbaths, and was in Gato's employment. Perhaps he was angered and simply got revenge."

"You're creeping us out Shino man." Kiba joked. "You've talked more today than I can you ever talking in a day."

"I merely felt it was necessary." Shino replied simply.

A whistle of appreciation caught everyone but the Jounin off guard. The eight Konoha shinobi whirled around to see Zabuza standing there with his partner.

"That's some decent work!" He grinned as he got more than a few angry glares. "Mostly kunai and shuriken and maybe a short sword or two if I'm not mistaken. Somebody took his time planning an op like this. Those guys weren't noobs." Unnoticed by everyone, Team Kitsune shared a quick glance.

"So it wasn't you, I take it." Kakashi stated.

"Yup." Zabuza cheerfully replied.

"Then why are you here." Kakashi demanded.

"The man was loaded, and I need some cash for my job here, and I don't mind picking it out of his chubby hands if I have to." The Kiri missing-nin answered, causing a few of the people of Nami to realize that they now had all the money that was stolen and extorted from them.

"That's reasonable, I guess." Kakashi nodded and relaxed his posture, but if you looked closely you could tell his guard was still up. It was the telltail sign of a seasoned shinobi. "I hope you are not planning on taking it all."

"All?" Zabuza laughed. "If I took it all, Haku here would refuse to heal me for hurting the people of Nami. She'd stick me full of needles and make it so I couldn't sleep. Absolute hell man."

"We aren't giving you anything!" Tazuna declared. "It's our money and you tried to kill me twice!"

"I did no such thing!" Zabuza sounded indignant. "It was only one time! That thing with the Demon brothers didn't count."

Nami sweatdropped at the attempted reasoning done by Zabuza.

"I will get my money though." Zabuza added after a moment. "I got mouths to feed and bills to pay, you know how it goes."

"Oi! Mister big sword!" Naruto called out. "Why don't you come back to Konoha with us and become a Leaf shinobi?"

"No fucking way I'm falling for that kid." Zabuza glared at Naruto. "You think that I'm stupid enough to walk into that place? With my background I'd be lucky enough if they killed me on the spot."

"No they won't." Naruto replied with a grin. "Sandaime-ojii-san and I are close and Hinata-chan and Sasuke-teme are the children of the heads of the Hyuuga and Uchiha clans! We'd have enough political pressure to make it safe for you! Wat do ya say mister."

"Well I'll be damned." Zabuza smirked behind his bandages. "You aren't as dumb as you look blondie."

"Thanks!" Naruto chirped back seemingly oblivious at what Zabuza had been saying.

Hinata and sasuke sweatdropped with their sensei at Naruto's oblivious behavior. Recently they, being Hinata and Sasuke, had been noticing that Naruto's switching between personalities had become more and more drastic.

"Regarless of what blondie and the old drunk says, I'm getting my money." Zabuza stated. "Haku." The masked kunoichi stepped forward and unleashed a hail of senbon up into the air.

"Kage senbon no jutsu." She said in a strange voice that defiantly didn't sound like a boy or girl. Kakashi's eyes widened as he realized what she was doing.

"Look out! Everyone take cover!" Kakashi grabbed the nearest person, which happened to be Tazuna, and erected an earthern wall with a jutsu. The Jounin watched in horror as the senbon literally rained down on the villagers, impaling them in their arms and legs, paralyzing them. Oddly enough, Kakashi noted, none of the senbon hit a vital point.

Team Kitsune saw the incoming senbon and quickly erected earthern defenses around the other Konoha shinobi, receiving glances of appreciation from the rest of Team 8 and Sakura. "Thanks dobe…" Kiba grudgingly thanked the blonde after a stern look from Kurenai when he was about to just not say anything.

"Sure!" Naruto chirped. "No problem. IS ANYONE DEAD?"

"NARUTO BAKA!" Sakura smashed her fist into his head. "DON'T ASK STUPID QUESTIONS!"

"No one is dead, but they may have permenent paralysis if the senbon are left in too long." Haku informed everyone.

"I have never seen such control over the senbon." Kakashi admitted. "You are quite talented."

"Thank you, Hatake-san." Haku bowed slightly. "Only medic nin should remove the needles, and seeing as I am the only one here, I will remove them once we have taken our cut of Gato's money."

Kakashi sighed and Kurenai frowned. They didn't really have much of a choice at this moment. "Fine." Kakashi relented.

No one said a word as Zabuza and Haku walked into the mansion. As soon as the nuke-nin were out of hearing range, Kurenai angrily glared at Kakashi. "Why didn't you stop them?" She demanded. "Now dangerous nuke-nin have enough money to hire a small army!"

"Calm down Kurenai-san." Kakashi calmly looked at her with his one eye. "Look around you. The people here will need a medic nin to remove the senbon. You can tell that they are all piercing pressure points that would be easily damaged if someone with little or no medical experience removed the needles. Worst case sinario is that we have to force them to heal the villagers when they come out."

"I'm not happy with this course of action, just so you know." Kurenai informed the lazy jounin. "But I will go along with it for now."

XXX

"Hinata-san." Sakura got the Hyuuga's attention. They were waiting for Zabuza and Haku to come out of the mansion. "How are you so good? Can you tell me how to get stronger?"

"Train." Hinata replied simply. "Put the time in and work hard and you'll improve."

"I'm doing that, but I'm still not catching up to Naruto and Sasuke-kun." Sakura replied slightly depressed.

Hinata laughed before she controlled herself and turned to Sakura. "If you ever catch up to them, you'd be thirty, and they'd have to stop training—which isn't going to happen."

"You don't think I'm good enough?" The pink-haired girl demanded angrily.

"Quite the opposite, really!" Hinata replied quickly hoping to clear up the misunderstanding before Sakura belw up in her face. "You have a lot of potiential that Naruto, Sasuke, Kakashi-sensei, and Kurenai-sensei all see. It's just that those two are better than you think they are."

"You're strong." Sakura stated. "Can you help me get up to their level?"

"Don't you already train with your team for ten hours a day?" Hinata asked.

"Hai." Sakura replied. "But most of it isn't that physically demanding when I'm working on my chakra detection skills."

"So you're looking for physical training?" Hinata asked and Sakura nodded yes in reply. "Then we'll do runs in the morning and evening to get your stamina to inhuman levels."

"Around Konoha?" sakura inquired.

"Sure we can start off with that, but I usually take runs through Training ground 44." Hinata answered her fellow genin's question.

"The Forrest of Death?" Sakura was surprised. Only Jounin and ANBU were allowed to train in there. It was simply too dangerous for lower ranked shinobi to train in there.

"Yup!" Hinata was way too happy about that place for Sakura's liking. "It forces you to constantly be on the look out for dangerous creatures. It would be a great to work on your sensing and identifying threats."

"You have a point." Sakura had to admit that the Hyuuga had thought it out. "So how much training did you do in the academy with your family?"

"None."

"WHAT?" Sakura shrieked. "How are you so good if you didn't train?"

"Did I say tht I didn't train?" Hinata playfully replied. "Oh, my how did that slip out? I trained eight hours a day with Naruto and Sasuke."

"Even with being at the Academy all day?" Sakura asked. Hinata nodded and Sakura's brain went into overdrive. "That's like training non stop for two months!" (A/N: this is assuming 40 school weeks a year and forty hours a week.)

"Cool." Hinata smiled. "But you didn't consider training for twelve hours a day on the week ends and during our weeks off."

"Holy shit!" Sakura shouted. "No wonder you're so good! And to think that Naruto and Sasuke-kun trained for the same amount of time."

"Actually, Naruto and Sasuke trained longer and more efficiently with kage bunshins." Hinata admitted.

"Those solid clones that Naruto makes all the time?" Sakura asked for clarification. "I can see how that would be useful when sparing."

"Actually, when they dipell you learn everything that they learned and gain their memories." Hinata replied. "Naruto usually trained with a couple hundred."

"That's like two months of training on one of your eight hour days." Sakura was dumbfounded. "Shit…"

XXX

**Alright! Another chapter done! Sorry about the really long delay, but I just started college and working through Calc 3 problems when you haven't used math in 3 months is not that easy. I hope to get writing on a regular schedule as I settle into my classes, but who knows what will happen. **

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**~Cyberviper42~**


	21. Chapter 21: Return

**Okay working on this one right away, so ONWARDS FAITHFUL READERS!**

**READ AND REVIEW!**

Chapter 21: Return

XXX

Zabuza kept whistling as he walked though the corridors of Gato's mansion. Each turn brought even more bodies that were killed in more interesting and creative ways. "Whoever it was, they've got a nasty streak in them." Zabuza commented, leaving Haku a little confused. "Each of these bodies were paralyzed with a slash to the neck and then cut so that they'd bleed out slowly."

"Even you're more merciful than that." Haku stated.

"Damn straight." Zabuza muttered under his breath. "I just slice them in half and drag their torsos by their intestines across the room."

"WHAT!" Haku shouted. "Since when do you do that?"

"When I feel like it…" Zabuza answered. "And when you aren't around to see it."

"Should of known you wouldn't give that stuff up." Haku muttered indignantly, angry that Zabuza had broken a promise to her.

"Oh come on!" The former member of the mist swordsmen whined most uncharacteristically. "You should have known that I can't just hold back my need for blood forever. I simply take it out all at once rather than have to draw it out, unlike the fucker who did this."

Haku sighed. Sometimes there was no arguing with the man. She had tried to 'cure' him of his bloodlust, but it had been ingrained in his psyche for too long and even though his was making an effort to make good on his promise, it wasn't working as well as she had hoped. It was like an addiction—scratch that it was an addiction. To Zabuza, killing people simply made him feel alive, and in that respect he as a monster, but once he was off his high, he was as sane as any normal human being…well almost. I mean how sane can a elite jounin be? All of them had their ways to cope with what they did for a living. Hatake Kakashi was known for reading smut and the only times that she had seen him without it was when he was fighting seriously. She had spied on a spar between him and the Uchiha and the pink haired girl.

"I'm glad that you're trying." Haku said after a moment's pause. She had the entire previous paragraph to mull over.

"Huh?" Zabuza grunted unintelligently. "You say something?"

"No, nothing Zabuza-sama." Haku replied with a calm voice that didn't betray her inner emotions.

XXX

"Man they are taking a long time!" Naruto whined as he lay on a patch of non-blood soaked grass. "Why can't missing nins just take their money and leave?"

"Because they don't have anywhere to get to in any timely fashion." Shino replied. "They have to live life to the fullest, not knowing when their next job or a hunter nin might be their last."

"Doesn't seem to be a fun thing walking through a house full of dead guys." Naruto stated, playing with a kunai. "I mean, sparing, or swimming, or EATING RAMEN! Would be more interesting."

"But they need money to live, so that comes first." Sakura stated. "Then they can relax or do whatever they do in-between missions."

"The life of a missing nin isn't fun or pretty." Kurenai told the genin. "It's a life that more often or not leads to death."

"You know it's rather ironic that with only the strongest missing nins staying away from the missing nins." Sasuke said aloud. "Only the weaker get picked off by other missing nins and hunter-nin. That only leaves the A and S-ranked missing-nins roaming around the world, and they are the most dangerous."

"You'd need a group of S-ranked hunter-nin to go after the strongest missing-nins." Kakashi said, looking up from his porn. "It's rare enough for one hidden village to have two S-ranked shinobi, usually the kage and perhaps a jinchuuriki. Aside from that they may only have a handful or elite jounin who could be considered A-ranked shinobi."

"Like you, Kakashi-sensei?" Hinata-asked.

"Hai." Kakashi closed his book and pocketed it. "I may be considered to be an A-rank shinobi, but there are other factors to take into consideration in order to properly classify a shinboi."

"What would Gai-sensei be considered to be?" Naruto asked out of the blue.

"A to S ranked." Kakashi admitted after a moments thought. "He is better at Taijutsu than me and his physical stamina is second to none. He is a brute force type of fighter, which means that he is powerful, but some of his energy is wasted. I try to conserve my chakra and therefore can last long high-level battles even with my Sharingan active. Orochimaru, although I hate to compare him to me, uses a similar style based upon his snakes, which favors precision and speed over strength. That's not to say that he isn't strong. If he hadn't gone bad, he probably would have been a very likely choice for the Yondaime or Gondaime after Sandaime-sama retired."

"That just made you sound weaker than Orochimaru and Gai-sensei." Naruto quipped slyly. "Is the great Hatake Kakashi admitting his weakness to the world?"

"I would like to point out that I have the second highest number of completed S-ranked missions in Konoha's history." Kakashi tried to defend his abilities. "I have also mastered nearly all the jutsus that I have copied, putting me just shy of Sandaime-sama's record of over a thousand."

"What about the Yondaime?" Kiba asked, entering the conversation.

Kurenai sweatdropped at her student's ignorance. "He had a 'flee-on-sight' order in the bingo book, Kiba. What level do you think that he was at?"

"S?" Kiba half replied, half asked. "Wasn't he your sensei, Kakashi-sensei."

"NANI!" Naruto exclaimed. "Then you've got to know all his cool moves!" Naruto jumped to his knees and began groveling at Kakashi's feet. "You gotta teach me his moves!"

Kakashi sighed. "Yes, I was his sensei, and no I won't teach you Naruto."

"WHY NOT?" Naruto demanded.

"Because I don't know one of them, and the other is a bit to complicated for you right now. It took me nearly six months to master it." Kakashi replied. "I'm sure that you could do it in less, but I don't want you to be distracted from your duties to Team 7 and Konoha."

"Fine…" Naruto grumbled under his breath about 'unfair senseis' and how he was going to beat up a certain silver-haired, masked jounin when they got back to Konoha. Kakashi sweatdropped at the blonde's words.

XXX

"Zabuza-sama…" Haku tugged on Zabuza's arm, trying to get him to come to. "Zabuza-sama, we need to hurry up."

"Ungh…" Zabuza opened his eyes and blinked rapidly. "I hate that jutsu."

"If you hate it, they why use it?" Haku asked.

"Because it's dead useful." Zabuza replied. "It helps you if you kill the person you're trying to get the info from."

"The 'see what he saw' one?" Haku asked and Zabuza nodded. "So who killed them all?"

"This one was killed by an Uchiha." Zabuza replied. "He wasn't hiding his Sharingan with the black fox ANBU mask he had on." The Kiri missing-nin got to his feet and slung his blade into its harness on his back. "He was short, like those Konoha genin, so probably around their age."

"Should we tell Kakashi-san?" Haku asked. "As sort of a payment to them because we took so much."

"What?" Zabuza feigned surprise. "A million ryo out of a couple hundred isn't that much."

"That's enough to pay for two or three S-ranked missions." Haku replied with a monotone.

"So?" Zabuza asked innocently (If that's even possible). "We gotta have enough to hold us for a while."

"Fine…" Haku caved in and followed her master out of the mansion, not blinking an eye at all corpses that they walked around and stepped over.

XXX

The Konoha was getting more and more impatient as the Kiri missing nins took their time collecting their payment. Just about when Naruto felt like 'snapping' Zabuza, followed by Haku walked out of the mansion and walked over to Kakashi and Kurenai. Stealthily, Naruto slinked into hearing distance of the three jounin and eavesdropped.

"So how much did you take?" Kakashi asked, eying the case that Haku was holding.

"A million." Zabuza replied, earning himself a raised eyebrow from the Copy-nin. "There was easily 200 million there in cash, and there's got to be more in the banks under his name."

"Lots of bodies?" Kakashi asked.

"Sure." Zabuza replied. "I used a jutsu on one to see the last things that he saw."

"So you know who did it." Kakashi stated, hoping for confirmation.

"No I don't know who specifically it was, but he was an Uchiha if his Sharingan was anything to go by." Zabuza replied. "He was about the size of one of your genin and was wearing a black fox ANBU style mask."

Kurenai gasped. "Team Kitsune? They were here?"

"Shit!" Zabuza swore. "You're telling me that those guys were here and I didn't get to fight them?"

"You're hopeless Zabuza-sama." Haku chirped up from behind the large jounin.

"Team Kitsune." Kakashi muttered aloud.

"You know about them?" Zabuza asked. "In Kiri they were rumors used to motivate Genin into training harder."

"Hai, they are real…" Kakashi trailed off. "They are the best squad to come from Konoha ever. Even the legendary Sannin don't come close to them in terms of mission record. It rumored that they are all child prodigies who were trained young and barely older than these genin."

Kurenai picked up the story. "They all use Kitsune style masks, only differing with colors; white, red and black. Each one can take on multiple jounin at once and are experts in their chosen specialties."

"That's a little farfetched." Haku stated with doubt in her voice. "Are they Kage level?"

"Each of them is S-ranked in the Bingo books." Kakashi replied. "I have been looking into them for a while. Apparently one of their missions was to sneak into my apartment and steal me entire Icha Icha collection. Ever since I have dedicated my non-reading time to finding their identities in order to exact my revenge!"

"You said that aloud Kakashi." Kurenai cracked her knuckles dangerously. "You should know that I despise perverts. I can put up with you reading, but to admit you prize those books over training and taking your career as a shinobi seriously…well that's a _little_ to far."

"Kurenai-sensei!" Sakura called to the jounin, pointing towards the woods. "Is that who you are talking about?"

The three jounin whipped their heads to where Sakura was pointing and saw a short shinobi dressed in black wearing a black mask.

"No way…" Kakashi watched as the shinobi walked over to the gathered shinobi. The way he walked made no noise and was so fluid it was as if he was gliding over the ground. He seemed to command respect with the sheer aura surrounding him. He was leaking a tint of killer intent that flowed over everyone. It scared the civilians and put the shinobi on edge. Anyone who would blatantly act like him was either overestimating their abilities or could tear you apart like confetti.

Kakashi lifted his hiate to reveal his Sharingan eye, and immediately both eyes widened in surprise. The man was leaking enough chakra to power one of his Chidori's. "He's the real deal." Kakashi said as he lowered his hiate but didn't relax his stance or posture.

"Missing-nin Zabuza, former member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. Bounty of 27 million for your head, 30 million for your return alive." The voice was distorted with some sort of jutsu making impossible to tell whom it was.

"So you're after me?" Zabuza demanded, drawing his sword and separating himself from Haku and the Konoha jounin.

"No." Black Kitsune replied shaking his head. "Konoha Genin Teams 7 and 8 are ordered to return to Konoha as soon as possible upon completion of their mission. Sanctuary is offered to Zabuza and his apprentice should they wish to come to Konoha."

"What the fuck?" Zabuza looked at the short ANBU, surprise evident on his bandaged face. "How are you permitted to give us sanctuary in Konoha?"

"Orders." Black Kitsune replied simply before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

"That was scary." Everyone turned to Kiba who had spoken. "He made Akamaru dig a hole to hide in. I've never heard of someone doing that to a member of the Inuzuka Clan."

"No shit Gaki." Zabuza retorted. "None of us would have stood a chance against him even if everyone here worked together to try to bring him down."

"We're lucky to be alive." Haku stated.

XXX

"Why'd you do that?" Hinata demanded, grabbing Sasuke's shirt with her hand, nearly lifting him off his feet. "Do you know how much trouble we could get in?"

"It was an appropriate risk." Sasuke replied. "Zabuza used some jutsu to see me kill those guys inside the mansion, and I had to throw the heat off of us. With our limiters on Kakashi has never sensed or determined how much chakra we really have. With a Kage Bunshin that doesn't have a limiter, it can impersonate us easily."

"I hate those limiters." Naruto whined. "20% of my chakra doesn't cut it."

"That may be true and all, but there is still the need to keep our cover." Hinata growled at the boys. "You can't just go appearing as the Kitsune's whenever you feel like it."

"Ma ma, Hinata-chan." Naruto wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "It was fine and nothing bad happened. Everyone there believed that Sasuke-teme's clone was the real deal, so no harm done!"

"I'm still surprised that no one is suspicious of us." Sasuke stated. "I mean we suddenly get two to four times more powerful and they buy our story that we were simply training by ourselves and not revealing our true strength in the academy."

"It is odd, but that doesn't mean that you can simply act whenever you want." Hinata replied. "The more you take chances and risks, the more likely someone is going to put two and two together and blow our cover."

"What if we just revealed out real identities?" Naruto asked, seemingly out of the blue. "I mean then we could simply get our way and become ANBU for real."

"Dobe, you do realize that the whole point of the ANBU masks are to keep their identities secret." Sasuke blandly replied. "What point is there to revealing our identities and then trying to cover them up again."

"We'd get what we want." Naruto replied.

"Good enough reason for me." Sasuke added. "We get what we want and then we can move on and continue our careers as shinobi. Kakashi-sensei was in the ANBU and he was known, Itachi was in ANBU and his cover was known as well. There's no reason that we can't reveal ourselves."

Hinata didn't reply, but she was thinking. She was frowning, leaning to her left and tapping her right index finger against her left forearm as she folded her arms across her chest. "You know he has a point, Hinata-chan."

"What about Sakura?" Hinata finally asked. "Don't you think that she would be upset and angry with you two?"

"Probably." Sasuke snorted. "She's defiantly rookie chuunin material, so she has nothing to worry about with the upcoming exams except for the fact that she'd be missing a team."

"What if we stick with her until the exams, and then during the break between the second and third exams, we break it to her." Naruto suggested. "We'd show off our real skills in the second exam, making it clear that we are no chuunin or even jounin. That leaves her thinking and looking for answers."

"Then we simply give them to her when she asks or seems to be getting to a conclusion." Sasuke completed the blonde's thought process. "She'd take it better than us simply getting up and announcing that we're ANBU."

"We'd also make chunin for real, and thus be allowed to try out for ANBU." Naruto smirked. "If we do it this way, there's no way anyone can complain. If we are still assigned to the same team after the exam, we simply apply to ANBU and our skills shown during the exam and during whatever test they may throw us into, would get us in."

"That's remarkably well thought out Naruto-kun." Hinata said, in a calmer voice than she had been speaking to the two boys in earlier. "That would leave Sakura, and Team 8 with the least hard feelings and we could still get along with them later on if we have to come out of the corps for some reason."

"And when we come out, I can spend all the mission money on RAMEN!" Naruto shouted. "This is an A-ranked mission right?" Naruto's sudden switch caused Hinata and Sasuke to slip off their seats and fall to the ground, with massive sweatdrops behind their heads.

"Only you would blow an A-rank mission pay on Ramen." Hinata muttered murderously as she got to her feet and proceeded to pound Naruto a few over the head. Once she was done, she brushed off her clothes with her hands and walked over to the other shinobi. Sasuke followed right behind her, and once Naruto had 'recovered' enough, he came wincing and rubbing his very sore head.

XXX

Hinata returned to one of the most peculiar scenes she had ever witnessed in her long career as a shinobi of Konoha. Kakashi and Zabuza were standing ramrod straight, reading a pair of orange books. Kurenai and Haku were glaring bloody murder at the duo. Kiba was trying to flirt with one of the villager's daughters who had come. Shino was crouched down low to the ground, observing the insect life in the Nami soil. All in all, it was a scene where absolutely nothing was being done, and the clock was ticking.

"Does nobody have anything to do?" She demanded. Kurenai looked up almost grateful that Hinata was there. "Honestly, the bridge isn't going to build itself, and we aren't doing much to build it right now!" The two elite shinobi looked up from their books simultaneously, and blinked once before burying their noses in the book and walking off in the general direction of the bridge, in stride, and in sync turning their pages.

"That-that was just plain creepy." Naruto stated as he stopped next to his friends.

"We'd better follow Ichigan and his new bookmate." Sasuke sighed as he walked after them, leaving Team 8 and the remainder of the shinobi with the villagers.

"He's right you know." Kurenai stood up and dusted herself off, earning a few lecherous looks from the male civilians as she brushed off some curvier parts of her body. "Everyone! We're going to work on the bridge. Come along if you wish to help. Everyone who helps build makes it completed faster."

XXX

"So after that we parted ways with Zabuza and Haku and returned to Konoha." Kakashi summarized to Sarutobi.

"And what is your opinion of Zabuza and his apprentice?" The old man asked. "Are they a threat to Konoha?"

"No." Kakashi definitively replied. "They were grateful for our help in getting their money. They also have the hearts of Nami. If they need help, they'll either turn to them or us."

"Very well." Sarutobi took a deep breath from his pipe. "You may leave, Naruto, Hinata and Sasuke, if you would stay a minute." The old man waited until the other shinobi had left the room and were on their way out until he began to speak with Team Kitsune. "I'm proud that you kept everyone safe, even at the risk of blowing your cover. That is how a true Leaf Shinobi acts."

"Thanks." Naruto chirped, smiling with a million watt smile.

"We're just glad that we go out to stretch for a while after being cooped up in the village doing D-ranks." Sasuke stated.

"I see that Kakashi and Zabuza noted the fine workmanship of your stretching." Sarutobi stated. "While I'm not too surprised that you three took action on your own, I would ask that you don't do so in such a gruesome manner. You are still children, and I hate having you do things like that."

"The moment we donned our masks, we were no longer children, but adults." Sasuke said firmly. "We may be young, but we are mature enough to handle what comes our way."

"Itachi-sensei has been with us every step of the way in case we needed help." Hinata added. "Although we didn't realize it at the time, we helped shield us from the real nature of our missions for a few years. He gradually broke us into the reality of what we were doing, and gave us the opportunity to stop at anytime."

"I'm glad that Itachi learned from what happened to him and made sure to make your time adjusting easier." The hokage replied. "He had a particularly rough time, and there were times that I was almost sure that he was going to snap, but then you three cam along and changed that."

"Say what?" Sasuke blanked.

"Had he not gotten you three training and teaching you things, giving some purpose to what he had suffered through, he might have gone off on a massacre, that we couldn't recover from." Sarutobi continued. "It was almost an instantaneous change in his demeanor and posture. All of a sudden he had a reason to look forward to the next mission, and stay sane. He knew that if we broke, he'd hurt you three the most, and he wouldn't allow himself to do that."

"Nii-san has always been sort of peaceful, avoiding conflict…you know…" Sasuke said.

"Indeed." The Sandaime Hokage nodded. "I believe it was a response to all the things he had to go through, becoming an ANBU agent at such a tender age, and having to face the reality of his life without any support." Picking up a folder that was open on his desk, he switched gears. "But enough of the heavy talking, I want to discuss the upcoming exams."

"You deed our help with something?" Hinata asked. "Proctoring a test or something?"

"No."

"Then what?" Sasuke asked.

"You three are beyond jounin levels, and as such, putting you though the exams just for promotion sake would be a waste of time, so you are going to be doing a little job." Sarutobi smiled as he gave Team Kitsune a new mission. "You three are going to get as much info on as many of the genin that are coming to the exams, Konoha or foreign, and then write up a report on each of the ones you feel have potential to become powerful in the near future."

"Getting dirt on them early, eh?" Naruto smirked. "Alright, I guess we can do that."

"Do they have to be written reports?" Sasuke asked. "That's going to be a lot of writing."

"You can write the ones you feel will be key players in the years to come." Sarutobi replied. "If possible, be friendly with them, make them feel like Konoha is a descent place with decent people."

"You like messing with people's minds to much, Old Man." Hinata shook her head disapprovingly. "shame on you."

"Guilty as charged." Sarutobi mockingly raised his hands in surrender.

XXX

"These exams are going to be interesting." Naruto grinned wickedly as they exited the Hokage's Tower, making their way to the Naruto-fill-up-station.

"Couldn't agree more with you." Sasuke had an equal grin, and for whatever reason, everyone they walked by shuddered trying to comprehend what the Uchiha and the demon were grinning for.

"Would it be to much to ask that you two behave normally for just once?" Hinata asked.

"Yes." The two boys replied in unison.

XXX

**Whoo! Between classes, research papers and homework, I find the time to write and relax for a while. And I'm sure that you are glad I spammed out his chapter as quick as I could. **

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**~Cyberviper42~**


	22. Chapter 22: The Chunin Exams!

**Hey all! Cyberviper42 is back with another humorous, side-splitting chapter with a mix of action, seriousness, and plain craziness.**

**I apologize for this being so late, but several things just happened. 1) the first term just got over and finals and the like drained me. 2) break wasn't really a break as my parents put me to work around the house doing chores and the like that I really didn't want to do. 3) my birthday. 4) I got a new Macbook Pro and now I get a light-up keyboard and a huge bump up from my old 13" Macbook G4 from 2004. The difference is indescribable. I can now get to my email in under 2 minute! Lol**

**Hopefully I will dedicate a little more time to writing this next term and will bust out a couple more chapters before Christmas comes around. (Going to Hawaii!)**

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Chapter 22: The Chuunin Exams

XXX

"You're late!" Sakura growled at Kakashi the instant he shunshinned into Training Ground 7. No longer could he sneak up on his little genin. Mentally he wiped a tear from his eye. They grew up so fast these days…

"In order to avoid breaking a mirror that was on the ground, I had to jump, but that made me go under a ladder, so I had to do seven laps around Konoha." Kakashi snapped open his book and pulled out three slips of paper that he had been using as a book mark for the past week. "Anyway…I've nominated you for the Chuunin exams. Fill out these forms and go to the third floor of the Academy tomorrow."

"Do we all have to sign up in order to participate?" Sakura asked. "Or is this an indivudual thing?"

"No pressure if one of you doesn't want to do it." Kakashi replied. "I know Naruto might not be ready for the exams, so no reason to worry if he doesn't fell like he can do it."

"HEY!" Naruto ran at the jounin, pulling out two handfuls of kunai. "I'M MORE THAN READY AND YOU KNOW IT!"

"That'sallfortoday! Bye!" Kakashi rushed his sentence and shunshinned from the clearing, just in time to avoid being impaled by Naruto's weaponry.

Sakura looked over her paper for a moment as Naruto collected his kunai, before she realized one very important fact. "He was three hours late to say six sentences!" Shouting angrily, she marched over to Sasuke and grabbed his elbow, dragging a rigid body Sasuke to the middle of the clearing. "We're sparing. Now!"

"Hn." Sasuke settled into a taijutsu stance and tensed his muscles, ready to move in any direction to react to Sakura's opening move.

XXX

_One week ago_

"Ahh, Kakashi, I'm so glad that you could make it in time to our meeting." Sarutobi smirked as he saw Kakashi's shocked expression. Mind you that's a slightly widened eye, with a side of a head jerk.

"But you said the meeting started at 0700." Kakashi replied.

"I did?" Sarutobi asked. "Must be loosing my memory. The meeting has always been at 1000."

"Sneaky old man." Kakashi grumbled as he took his place in line with the other Jounin senseis.

"I heard that." Sarutobi cleared his throat. "Now this meeting can be started. First off, Senseis with rookie teams please step forward to nominate your team."

For a moment no one moved, and some of the jounin assumed that just like Gai, the three rookie teams would wait half a year before competing in the exams. "I, Hatake Kakashi, nominate Team 7 consisting of Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, and Haruno Sakura, to take the Chuunin Exam."

"Are you serious!" Some one shouted. "They're just rookies."

"There's no way that they're ready." Another added. "Uzumaki was the dead last in the academy, there's no way he's ready for the exams, and Haruno didn't have much in terms of fighting ability."

"Kakashi-san, I think that you should reconsider. Ther—"

"Are you telling me that I, their sensei, don't know what they're capable of?" Kakashi demanded. "None of you know what they can do except I."

_You're wrong on many levels, Kakashi-kun._ Sarutobi coughed, silencing the crowd of shinobi. "Anyone else?"

"Team 10." Asuma Sarutobi stepped up and formally said his piece. Not to be out done by the other rookie's senseis, Kurenai stepped forward and nominated her team.

"Very well then." Sarutobi finalized the nomiations. "Would any non-rookie senseis like to nominate their teams?"

"YOSH!" Gai shouted at the top of his lungs. "I NOMINATE MY YOUTHFUL TEAM 9!" Kakashi pulled out a pair of ear plugs and promptly jammed them into his easy, blocking out the jounin's rant.

Of course it just so happened that most of the room saw him put them in, but Gai didn't see and when he turned to talk with Kakashi, the One-eyed Jounin looked at him. "What did you say?"

Gai promptly went on a very loud and very long rant about Kakashi's 'hip' attitude and YOUTH and the like, but people began to tune him out, like Kakashi had done before the Green Jounin opened his mouth.

_Looks like this year will be interesting._ Kakashi thought to himself as he took three forms and then put them into his book to mark his spot.

XXX

_Day of the Exams_

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto sailed though Acadamy airspace, looking for this pink haired teammate. He and Sasuke were looking for her, seeing as they had an exam to be in in less than a half hour. "Where aaaaarrrrreeee yyyooooouuuuuuu?" Traveling in an ever widening spiral from the academy, Naruto finally found his female teammate chasing Konohamaru and his two friends. The tick marks on her forehead led the blonde to conclude that The Hokage's grandson had said something that insulted Sakura without realizing what he said. He observed as the four Konoha residents rounded a corner and nearly stampeded two Suna shinobi. The Kunoichi was very sexy in Naruto's humble opinion, she had a large metal fan on her back, and carried herself as if she could and would use it. The other shinobi had make-up on in some random design on his face that made him absolutely rediculus. The absence of shinobi tools such as kunai and shuriken lead Naruto to believe that he was a puppeteer. Suna was famous for their shinobi puppets. They were dangerous if you weren't paying attention, but since this was only a genin, he wouldn't be much of a threat. Make it a jounin or a skilled Chuunin, and you had a fight on your hands with multiple puppets and poisons in the air. The only strange thing was these genin seemed older than your typical genin trying for the Chuunin exams. The kunoichi was bordering on fifteen or so, and the boy didn't look much younger.

Naruto was snapped back to reality when he saw Sasuke and a third Suna shinobi appear in a tree next to the scene. Seeing that Sakura was in slightly over her head. She was a ranged fighter/support shinobi, and didn't need to get into a close quarters fight just before the chuunin exams. It would hurt their chances, and that was not acceptable. Naruto shunshinned inbetween the two factions of the situation. "Oi, oi, oi, oi!" Naruto did a complete circle, looking at all the participants up close. "What's this? Three Suna genin going after three little Konoha genin and three academy students? That doesn't seem fair!"

"Who are you?" The kunoichi demanded.

"It's polite to introduce yourself before asking for another's name, oh fair one." Naruto bowed towards the girl with a flourish of his hand. It wasn't mocking, but it wasn't serious either. It was playful.

"Temari no Sabuko." Temari replied. "This is my brother Kankarou. And you are…?"

"Uzumaki Naruto!" Naruto cheerfully replied. "Are these your brothers?" Naruto asked pointing out the red head and the boy with the make up. They smell similar to you."

"I do not smell like them." Temari glared daggers at Naruto. She glanced fearfully at Garra to gage his reaction. The bloodlust rolling off of him seemed surreal, but yet the _children_ playing shinobi in front of her didn't seem to notice. If anything, their dark-haired teammate seemed to reval in the atmosphere.

"Why are you here?" Konohamaru demanded from behind Sakura. "Suna shinobi aren't allowed into Konoha without a reason, and you're just wondering about doing nothing here."

"Cheeky little brat aren't you." The older boy smirked. "Makes me want to slice you into little bits."

"Why do that when you can just nick an artery and watch him bleed out?" Naruto asked, pulling out a kunai. "A nice pool of blood and a wittle body lying in it would be more traumatizing to whoever found him rather than just finding some mashed up unidentifiable munchkin."

"Blood…" The redhead's eyes nearly glowed as he stared at Naruto.

"I think if he was missing an arm, they'd be worse off than if he just had a little knick on him." Sasuke retorted, jumping down from his tree limb.

"Are you two crazy?" Sakura demanded.

"Yes."

"I give up! You three brats scram while I drag these two idiots to the exams." Sakura shooed the academy students away.

"But those three aren't supposed to be here!" Konohamaru protested.

"They're here fro the Chuuin exams which we're going to take as well." Sakura replied. "If they weren't supposed to be here, then the ANBU would have had them in custody a while ago." The kids ran off without looking over their shoulders and disappeared from sight rather quickly.

"Mother wants your blood…" Garra clasped his forehead with one hand, covering an eye while glaring with his other.

"Then you'd better save it for the exams." Sasuke replied. "If you fight outside the exams, you will be expelled from Konoha and we won't get to fight in the exams."

"We're leaving." Garra turned his back on everyone and started to walk away from the scene of the confrontation. "Come." The other two sand siblings paused before taking off after their younger brother.

Naruto watched them walk away. "The guy with the red hair was like me."

"Huh?" Sakura looked at the blonde as if he was crazy, which she was almost completely sure he was.

"Which one does he got in him?" Sasuke asked. "The Ichibi? That would make sense with him coming from Suna."

"Yeah…" Naruto almost looked worried, but his facial expression quickly turned to glee. "This exam is going to be so much fun!"

"Couldn't agree with you more." Sasuke smirked knowingly. "Let's go. We've got ten minutes before we have to be in the exam room."

Naruto and Sasuke took off over the rooftops. Sakura watched them go before following a moment later. "What just happened?"

XXX

"Let us through!" Lee begged to two genin in front of him. "We are the most YOUTHFUL so we deserve to get in!" Behind him, Tenten and Neji facepalmed and groaned. Well, Neji looked slightly uncomfortable, Tenten was the one facepalming.

_Must not react…I must not react…_Neji struggled to not reach out and Junken his spandex wearing teammate to death, or silence. Whichever came first. Tenten was itching to dump a few tons of sharp pointy pieces of weaponry on her teammate. His actions were borderline psychotic, and way too damn LOUD!

"OI LEE!" Team 9 looked up to see a blonde haired boy with whisker marks on his cheeks walking towards them. "I got a secret shinobi training exercise that you can do without chakra and it will make you a better shinobi."

"YOSH MY YOUTHFUL FRIEND, YOU MUST TELL ME!" Lee was getting way to excited for the situation.

"Be absolutely quite for an entire hour." Naruto replied. "It's stealth training, and once you can do it no problem for an hour, work your way up to a day, then a week, and if you really want a good workout, try it for a month!"

Neji and Tenten's jaws dropped to the floor as Lee shut up immediately and shook Naruto's hand in thanks for the great training suggestion. It had been so easy for them to shut him up, and yet they didn't think of it.

Lee opened his mouth, but paused before his vocal chords began to vibrate. Instead, he whipped out a piece of paper from somewhere that Naruto knew he didn't want to know, and wrote: THANK YOU FOR THE MOST USEFUL TRAINING REGIMINE! I WILL BE SILENT FOR THE DAY AND IF I CANNOT TO THAT, I WILL…

He would have continued, but he ran out of paper because he was writing with large characters (Remember this is kanji.) To make up for that, he suddenly burst into flames of youth, scaring everyone around him.

"For someone who can't use chakra, how can he do that?" Naruto asked.

"I don't know." Neji answered. "And I don't want to know."

"It gives me shivers just thinking about them doing it." Tenten shuddered. Neji placed a hand on her shoulder to try and comfort his teammate.

"Sooooo…" Sasuke grinned at Neji and Tenten. "How long has this been going on?"

Immediately the contact was broken and Neji found his nails suddenly captivating, while Tenten inspected a kunai that materialized in her hand. "I don't know what you are talking about." Neji stated firmly.

"You know what we mean." Naruto elbowed him in the side, it wasn't hard, but it still jostled the older genin.

"I assure you that I do not." Neji replied with a little more force.

"Sure…Keep telling that to yourselves." Naruto grinned from ear to ear, his eyes squinting closed. Neji gulped inwardly. Whenever Naruto got like this, something big happened. Whether it was the ANBU being lead on a three-hour long chase around Konoha with the elite shinobi wearing nothing but their masks and pink to-tos, or the Hokage Monument getting a liberal layer of spray-paint to make the Hokage's look like perverted old men. Whatever was about to happen, Neji was sure that he didn't want to be in the immediate viscinity of the blonde genin.

"Say, Teme, do you have any preference on paint?" Naruto asked.

"I like red, but black is always a good color, so is white." The Uchiha replied. "It's to bad that you're just going to go with orange."

"You know me too well." Naruto dramatically placed a hand over his heart as if he was deeply touched. "So, shall we go take this exam and become jounin?"

"You mean chuunin?" Sakura spoke up for the first time since meeting Team 9. "Seriously Naruto, you need to pay attention more." As she scolded him, Naruto simply walked throught the double doors and up the flight of stairs that were hidden behind them.

XXX

Lee was mad. He was out of paper and he desperately wished to fight Uchiha Sasuke, but he couldn't issue his challenge without speaking or writing! Saddened that his plan didn't reach fulfillment, Lee just followed his teammates to the entrance of the exam room.

XXX

Naruto punched the door open in an impressive display of strength, blowing the door clean off its hinges and into the crowd of genin in the room, nearly flattening a few teams that were standing in the way. "Yo! This the exam room?"

"NARUTO-BAKA!" Ino screamed at the male blonde. "YOU COULD HAVE KILLED SOMEONE DOING THAT!"

"So?" Naruto replied seemingly clueless that he was being yelled at. "Less competition is better for us." He shrugged.

Before Ino could begin to shout back at the blonde, a large cloud of smoke erupted at the front of the room, revealing a large, heavily scarred man in front of a dozen or so means looking chunin. They all wore a grey uniform that was certainly not combat standard as they lacked any real form of protection and didn't carry any obvious weaponry. That wasn't to say that they couldn't be carrying any concealed weapons. It was rare for any shinobi above genin to walk around unarmed, even if they were a strict ninjutsu fighter. Having a knife or a simple kunai was the unofficial rule among shinobi.

"LISTEN UP AND SHUT UP!" Morino Ibiki's voice command obedience and that is what the large man got from the ikkle genin…except for members of Team 7 and 8. Naruto yawned and juggled several kunai as Sasuke did the same. Hinata looked as if she was asleep while standing up and Sakura looked as if reading the 300 page Konoha shinobi handbook was more important than the exam.

"You will be assigned a seat at random and you will sit in it without making a noise. There is no need to talk unless spoken to by myself or one of the proctors." The Chuunin proctors spread out around the room and took their seat at the end of each row of seats for the genin. Each genin drew a number from a container and sat at their assigned place. Naruto and Hinata were right next to each other. This was going to be good.

XXX

"Time! Put down you pencils and listen up, MAGGOTS!" Ibiki grinned mentally as he glanced around the room seeing how the genin seemed relieved that it was over. "Now for the final question. You have to decide whether or not you take it. Should you decide not to, you may leave. If you get it wrong, you will never be promoted to Chuunin." The outrage was music to the torture and interrogation specialist and his grin got larger and larger as more teams were disqualified when a member gave up. His joy would have been complete had every genin been sweating in their seats, but four genin weren't. Uzumaki Naruto was asleep, drooling all over his paper. Hyuuga Hinata who sat next to him was fiddling with her pencil, seemed to be board. Uchiha Sasuke had his feet kicked up on the desk and hands behind his head. Haruno Sakura looked confident. Knowing she was one of the smartest in the graduating genin class, she had probably answered all the questions correctly. Regardless, no one else was leaving.

"Congratulations you all pass." Ibiki was about to say more when a window shattered and the Second examiner entered with all her sexy flair.

XXX

The exam was boring. Nothing that Naruto did made the hour long written test any more exciting. Then Anko appeared. Now he wasn't drooling because he was just sleeping. Her skin-thigh fishnet and short skirt left nothing to the blonde's imagination.

"Damn." Naruto said too loudly. Before any of the genin, or chuunin for that matter, could tell she had moved, she was behind Naruto, a kunai at his neck.

"I'm glad you appreciate the show, but you are a bit too young to handle me." Anko whispered seductively into his ear. In a flash she was back next to Ibiki, examining the ones who remained. "Fourteen teams…that's better than last year. How'd you get so few?"

"Trade Secret." Ibiki replied, avoiding Anko's elbow and shunshining from the room with his Chunin proctors.

"Alright Gakis!" Anko grinned wickedly. "You'll wish you never became shinoibi when I'm through with you.

XXX

Naruto was excited. That had Hinata, Sasuke, and Sakura on edge. It wasn't a good feeling to know that one of the most powerful shinobi in the village was literally jumping up and down barely able to restrain his actions.

"You do know that you'll be able to release all your energy in the forest." Hinata tried to calm Naruto down just a little.

"Hey there Gaki!" Anko appeared behind the blonde and pressed up against him. "Excited to see me?"

"Yup!" Naruto turned his head and grinned at Anko. "Now I get to kill people! And I don't get in trouble!"

'One messed up kid.' Anko thought to herself. 'You don't see them like that unless they've seen some real shit. Itachi was like that…' The crazy Kunoichi made a mental note to talk to Kakashi about his student.

Calmly walking to the head of the Genin group, Anko called the young ones together and gave her schpeal. "Behind me is what Konoha shinobi affectionately call the Forest of Death. Most Jounin like to steer clear of here, but you will get the privilege of spending the next 120 hours in here." Most of the genin were visibly nervous, but again, there were exceptions. Suna's sole team looked eager, especially he redhead. Sasuke's eye revealed his excitement and was licking his lips in a way that just sent shivers down her spine. It reminded her too much of her sensei…Sakura was confident; her body language oozed confidence in her ability and wasn't being intimidated by the older genin who were leaking killing intent. Naruto…well Naruto was Naruto and that's all there was to it.

"Each team will carry a scroll with them, either Heaven or Earth. Your goal is to obtain a pair and make it to the tower in the center of the forest. Since the forest is likely to kill you, you are allowed to kill in order to get scrolls." Anko grinned as more than a few paled considerably. "All members of your team must live and be in fighting shape when you reach the tower with a pair of scrolls. In order to get a scroll, you will have to turn in three wavers stating that Konoha is not responsible if you die. Once you became Genin you became adults, so make your decision. You have ten minutes until the gates open."

XXX

"So, Hinata-chan, what do you say to taking Kyuu-chan until we meet up?" Naruto asked the pupil-less girl.

"You think I'm weak?" Hinata's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"No no no no no!" Naruto stuttered. "I didn't mean it that way. You would be the one defending those two until we meet up, and who knows what will happen. Just take Kyuu-chan and destroy a few teams."

"So I can't take care of three lousy Genin by myself?" Hinata charged her fingertips with chakra in preparation for a Junken strike.

"Fine, beat me up because I care about you." Naruto pouted, preparing his puppy-eye no jutsu.

"Oh, fine, I was just teasing you, are you sure you want to summon her here?" Hinata smiled and gave her friend a quick hug.

"I'll put up a barrier." Sasuke offered and quickly formed the handseals that he needed. "Doton: Sekimori" (A/N Earth Release: Barrier Keeper) the earth around the three and formed a two meter high wall around them.

Naruto formed the Fox handseal and gave the fox demon a whole tail of chakra. Amazingly, Sasuke's wall offered enough of a barrier to make sensing the chakra transfer difficult for jounin level shinobi.

"**I was wondering when you were going to summon me Na-ru-to-kuuun!"** The Kyuubi grinned as she crawled around the blonde, finally settling on his shoulders, her tail looking like a tie on the blonde.

"Looking for some excitement?" Naruto asked as he scratched behind her ears.

"**What do you have in mind?"**

"Go with Hinata-chan until my team meets up with her team and help take out any enemies that attack." Naruto switched to scratching under her chin.

"**Sure!"** The kitsune leaped off of Naruto's shoulders and wrapped herself around Hinata's neck and started to purr under Hinata's fingers.

"Why do I think that something bad is going happen?" Sasuke asked himself as he dropped the ninjutsu and suddenly realized that they were now the center of attention.

"What the Fuck!" Anko had a Kunai out and on guard, signaling to the chuunin. "There's no way a genin can pull of a B-rank ninjutsu and not break a sweat. Who are you?"

"Damn it…" Sasuke groaned as Naruto had a deer in the headlights look, and Hinata was seemingly too preoccupied by the demon to notice.

XXX

**MUAHAHAHAHAHA! **

**Sorry about the wait, but School is really coming down on me. I'm taking 6 courses a semester and I have to take that many for my scholarship to still be valid…**

**Anyway, I'll try to get a few more chapters out before Christmas, and one as a Christmas gift. **

**REVIEW! I'm happy to say that we've gone over 400 reviews!, and with over 500 on the favourite list, I'm expecting 500 reviews a chapter! Isn't that the way it works?**

**Thanks for reading**

**~Cyberviper42~**


	23. Chapter 23: The Forest of Death

**Hello and welcome to another exciting chapter of Together of Alone!**

**PLEASE FORGIVE ME! FORGIVE ME, FORGIVE ME, FORGIVE ME, FORGIVE ME, FORGIVE ME, FORGIVE ME, FORGIVE ME, FORGIVE ME, FORGIVE ME, FORGIVE ME, FORGIVE ME, FORGIVE ME, FORGIVE ME, FORGIVE ME, FORGIVE ME, FORGIVE ME, FORGIVE ME, FORGIVE ME, FORGIVE ME, FORGIVE ME, FORGIVE ME, FORGIVE ME, FORGIVE ME, FORGIVE ME, FORGIVE ME, FORGIVE ME!**

**I've been working hard on schoolwork for a long time and haven't had the time to write, so now when I have the time, I'm writing. I meant to have this up a lot earlier.**

**FORGIVE ME, FORGIVE ME, FORGIVE ME, FORGIVE ME, FORGIVE ME!**

**Ahem…**

**Read and Review!**

Chapter 23: The Second Exam

"_What the Fuck!" Anko had a Kunai out and on guard, signaling to the chuunin. "There's no way a genin can pull of a B-rank ninjutsu and not break a sweat. Who are you?"_

"_Damn it…" Sasuke groaned as Naruto had a deer in the headlights look, and Hinata was seemingly too preoccupied by the demon to notice._

XXX

Kakashi lounged in the Jounin common room with the other Konoha jounin senseis. Kurenai looked the most nervous, despite the fact that she was trying to show that she was calm. She was tense, and looked like she wanted to check on her Genin team. The veteran jounin around her could understand her worries, as she was a rookie jounin, and despite the amount of effort she put into her team, there was always room for doubt to creep into her thoughts.

Kakashi turned the page of his book to find…nothing. The rest of the pages were blank. Startled, he yanked up his forehead protector to examine the book with his sharingan to see if there were any genjutsu on the book. There were none.

"Find something you like Kakashi?" Asuma jokingly asked.

Gathering himself together, he stood and put his book into his pouch. "It seems that I need to have a chat with a certain blonde genin before he starts the second exam." Without another explanation, he shunshined from the room and appeared in the midst of his Genin team.

"I'll ask again! Who are you! Answer!" Anko threatened Team 7 and Hinata. She layered them with a large amount of her killing intent, but it didn't seem to phase the genin. A poof of smoke interrupted her and Kakashi appeared in the middle of his team.

"Ma, ma. What's going on here?" Kakashi asked. "Do jounin get to go after the genin now? That sounds like a fun exam!"

"Only you and Naruto would think that was fun, Kakashi-baka." Sasuke growled. "By the way, Anko-san thinks that we are imposters."

"Oh, that's nice." Kakashi waved the situation off as if it was nothing. "Right now I have more important things to deal with. Naruto!"

Said blonde jumped slightly before grinning foxily at Kakashi. "What would that be _sensei_?" He asked emphasizing the fact that Kakashi was supposed to be his sensei.

"What did you do to my book!" The Copy-nin demanded, pulling out his Icha Icha Paradise from his pouch and opened it, showing the blank pages.

"Nothing to much…why, you can't figure it out?" Naruto grinned evilly, sending chills down the other rookie genin's spines.

"It's not genjutsu." Kakashi replied.

"'Course it isn't." Sasuke snorted with amusement. "Subtlety isn't the Dobe's strong suit."

"Are you telling me it's a seal?" Kakashi glared at Naruto who only grinned more. "It is a seal! You bastard! How dare you ruin my precious book with a seal! It was a signed first edition!"

"So?" Naruto grinned. "I thought minors weren't supposed to look at this book, and you're showing it to us right now. Are you trying to pervert us?"

"Um…no?" Kakashi hear the sound of knuckles cracking behind him. Before he could turn, Hinata and Sakura were pummeling him into the ground. Hell hath no fury like women on a mission, namely to kill or permanently cripple all perverts, ie Hatake Kakashi.

While the drama was unfolding, Anko got more and more confused. Four Genin were bantering with Hatake Kakashi as if he was an equal. No Jounin sensei let their teams get away with such disrespect, but here, Kakashi was letting them. Then it hit her, he must have trained them up to the point where they could take on Jouin. Kakashi might be lazy, but his code about never abandoning comrades must have meant to him that he had to train his team to perfection. Training his team seriously meant that he didn't leave them to fend for, and train themselves. Instead they were now able to handle whatever was thrown at them, and in that regard he would never abandon them.

Sighing, Anko put away her kunai and motioned for the chuuin with her to stand down. "What are you doing here Kakashi?" She asked, crouching down next to the smear ground into the dirt. A poof of smoke and a log later, Kakashi rose from the ground unharmed as he had escaped with a Doton: Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu (Earth Release: Inner Decapitation).

"Well, Naruto modified my precious so that I couldn't read it, so I came to see him reverse it before the second exam started." Kakashi explained the situation as if it was perfectly normal for him to interrupt the Chuunin Exams in the manner that he had.

"You might have a little trouble with that, Kakashi-_sensei_." Naruto grinned. "I combined a illusion seal with the seals on an explosive note. If you try to remove the illusion seal or the explosive note's guts, it will blow. Figure out a way around it." Naruto smiled innocently at the baffled Jounin. "And if you get Ero-sannin to work on it, it's set to blow when his chakra get's with half a meter of the book. Same for Jiji!"

"Damn it!" Kakashi swore, angry that he wouldn't get help from the two better seal experts in Konoha. He'd have to do it himself, and that would require a lot of research. His lazy nature was polar opposite of studying.

"If you have nothing more to do here, leave and go fuck yourself." Anko growled, making Kakashi weary of her and disappear faster than he could say Icha Icha.

"Right, now that that's done, we can start! You now have three minutes to get your forms in and to your gate!" All the genin sans the Suna team and Team 7 stampeded to the booth the chuunin manned to turn their forms.

XXX

Team 7 arrived at their assigned gate with seconds to spare before the alarm sounded and the gates opened. They proceeded into the Forest of Death with about as much caution as a fox in a chicken coop, taking to the trees as soon as they entered the forest proper.

"Plan of action?" Sasuke initiated the team plan as they leaped from limb to limb high above the forest floor.

"Meet up with Team 8 first." Sakura stated the basic plan the two teams had established before entering.

"Then we take every scroll that we can find and burn all but a couple of extras." Naruto grinned. "We take out as much competition as we can. The only teams left after our little excursions into the art of capture the scroll should be Suna team, Team 8, and us.

Sasuke signaled a stop after five minutes of running. Below them were a Kiri and Iwa team fighting to the death over their scrolls. Silently Team 7 communicated while the genin below fought.

'_We wait until they're both exhausted or one is defeated before going in.'_ Sasuke signaled.

'_Mind if I drop in first and scare them?'_ Naruto asked grinning. Sakura and Sasuke immediately know he was planning something by the way his smile stretched from ear to ear.

'_What are you planning?'_ Sakura demanded.

'_A little of this…a little of that…you know…'_ Naruto signed back.

'_Nothing lethal.'_ Sasuke ordered. _'We might need to get some info from them.'_

'_Sure thing!'_ Naruto was gone, having stepped off the limb.

"Idiot…" Sasuke grumbed but re-focused his attention on the fight below him. The older Iwa squad was pounding the Mizu team into the ground, but still they were barely chunin level, nothing for Team 7 to worry about.

Naruto dropped directly in front of the Iwa squad leader, startling him to no end as the blonde jinchuurikki was suppressing his chakra to barely anything. To the weaker shinobi, it was as if the blonde had simply teleported into the middle of the fray. There was no chakra spike usually associated with a shunshin, and a quick check revealed that he couldn't sense the konoha shinobi's chakra.

"Wha—?" He didn't get a chance to finish his word as a kunai entered his skull via his chin. In the time it took his body to fall limply to the ground, Naruto flashed to each of the other genin and slashed at various vital points with the kunai he had first used.

XXX

Sakura couldn't help but feel sick as she watched Naruto kill—no, slaughter—the genin below her. Naruto! Goofy funny Naruto! Killing with no remorse, with a finesse that only came with practice and familiarity with the action. She looked to Sasuke for some sort of reaction. There was none, only a stoney, emotionless gaze that she scared her.

In the moment that Naruto was slashing below her, she was paralyzed. She couldn't even find her voice; something that her teammates would tell you was a rare occurrence. And then that moment was over, and Naruto was standing in the middle of his six victims. Two were still breathing, and gasping in pain as they fell to the ground and tried to defend themselves, but they were too wounded to put up any significant resistance.

Sasuke dropped down from his perch and landed next to Naruto. "I was sure you were only going to let one live."

"One from each team." Naruto replied. "Better information and Sakura wouldn't beat me up as bad." Naruto gave Sakura a goofy grin, which only further froze her.

"I think she's not going to like what we have to tell her." Sasuke stated in a slightly hushed voice.

"You want to come clean with her?" Naruto asked, fairly surprised. "I thought that we weren't going to tell her anything."

"She's smarter than we give her credit for, and you just showed how good you were." Sasuke replied. "She's scared of us and how we aren't acting like this is a new experience."

"We should wait for Hinata to tell her." Naruto replied. "It's her secret as much as ours."

"Agreed." Sasuke finished their hushed conversation. "Sakura, you can come down now."

Sakura did so, but shied away from her teammates as she stayed towards the edge of the clearing.

"Who…who the fuck are you?" The weak voice came from the pile of genin.

"Konoha's Team 7." Sasuke replied coldly. "And you're going to tell us a few things…"

XXX

Half an hour later, two interrogations, and a couple of scrolls later, Team 7 was done with their excursion with the Kiri and Iwa Teams and jumping from tree to tree as they headed towards where they felt Team 8's chakra.

"Sakura…" Sasuke spoke up without looking towards where the girl was jumping five meters to the right of him. "We need to explain a few things to you, and it is better that we do it with Hinata with us. Please understand that we have some secrets that no one knows."

"That's right!" Naruto was trying to stay positive and act like it wasn't a huge deal to help the pink-haired girl cope with what was about to he told. "We're doing this because we recognize the fact that you are smart enough and deserve to know a few things about our past."

Sakura didn't reply and continued on as if on auto pilot, concerning her teammates. Normaly she was cheerful, alert and eager to learn new things. The fact that she was withdrawn sent up warning flags in the boys' mind. Team 7 continued on in silence and kept a pace that most chunin would be hard-pressed to keep up with. Speed and knowledge of the terrain helped Sasuke guide his team through the Forest of Death without meeting another team as they headed towards Team 8.

XXX

"Oi! Hinata, where are we going?" Kiba demanded. "We've passed like ten teams so far, what's going on?"

"I believe we are meeting with Team 7." Shino stated loud enough to be heard above their movements.

"Shino-kun is right." Hinata replied to Kiba's question. "We are going to work with Team 7 to increase our chances of getting through the Forest with risk and the best chance of completing any tasks that will follow."

"You want to eliminate the competition." Shino stated. It was a logical and reasonable strategy if you were strong enough, to eliminate the other teams to increase your odds.

"That's not very sporting!" Kiba protested. "What about the other Konoha teams?"

"We are Shinobi, not Samurai, so being sporting means nothing to us." Hinata replied coldly. "Should we meet our friends we will either aid them or let them join us. If we do not know them, then they are hostile and possible enemies."

"That's harsh," Kiba protested, Akamaru barked in agreement.

"It's life." Hinata replied before motioning for her teammates to stop. "Kyu-chan, time to come out."

"Kyu-chan?" Kiba was confused until he saw a fox unwrap itself from Hinata's neck. He was positive that it hadn't been there before, as he couldn't smell it, neither could Akamaru. Whatever it was, it wasn't a real animal.

"!" Shino's eyebrows shot up from behind his sunglasses.

"Kyu-chan is Naruto's personal summon." Hinata explained. "He lent her to me to help keep us safe. She's been shielding our presence since we entered the forest, which helped us evade the other teams. She basically spreads out the chakra we emit so thinly that it feels like plant life."

"And you can see her do that with your Byakugan?" Kiba asked.

"Yes, but it is hard to do." Hinata replied. "I can sense her do it better than I can see."

"So why did Naruto lend her to you really?" Kiba asked. "We're the strongest team here!"

"Team 7 is stronger." Hinata replied. "Thus they can part with her abilities and not be significantly hurt power wise."

"I know Sasuke's strong, but Sakura and Naruto are practically dead weights in a fight." Kiba replied confused. "Is Sasuke really that strong?"

"Idiot." Hinata sighed. "Naruto is stronger than all the Konoha genins in the exam combined. If you had any abilities sensing chakra, then you'd know that two whole teams faded into nothing next to Naruto in an about a half second."

"He killed them?" Shino asked.

"Hai, and without chakra either." Hinata replied. "Team 7 is familiar with killing."

"I still don't believe you." Kiba stated. "But I got a question about that fox; why can't we smell it?"

The Kyuubi growled at being called 'it.'

"Shh…Shhh. He's just a dumb boy who doesn't know how to treat a girl." Hinata murmured into the Kyuubi's fur.

"Hey!"

"Oi! Hinata-chaaaaaannn!"

"Don't yell, Dobe! Sound carries in this forest." Team 7 had arrived.

"We need to talk to you Hinata." Sasuke stepped forward. "Kyu-chan, can you stay here and guard those two for a few minutes."

"**Sure thing."**

"It talks!" Kiba cried pointing at the fox.

"**Of course I talk! The nerve!"** She huffed. **"I'll stay here and won't eat them if they don't piss me off." **She smiled showing off her sharp fangs.

"Shino, keep Kiba from doing something stupid." Hinata said before leaving her teammates and followed Team 7. They all stopped in a clearing about 50 meters from where the remainder of Team 8 was waiting.

"So what's up?" Hinata asked.

"We need to tell Sakura." Sasuke stated.

"Tell her what, exactly?" Hinata asked cautiously.

"How I can kill without blinking." Naruto said guiltily, and got a large lump on his head courtesy of Hinata's fist.

"Stupid! Stupid! Idiot!" Hinata ranted, her eyes unconsciously shifting to her Byakugan in her anger.

"We know." Sasuke tried to diffuse the situation. "What's done is done, and we've got to run damage control now."

Hinata sighed. "Alright. I'll explain." She turned to Sakura. "Sakura." The pink-haired girl looked at the Hyuuga heiress.

"We have been trained from before we were in the academy to fight at the highest level. We had tutors from the Hyuuga clan, but Uchiha Itachi was our main sensei who taught most of what we know." Hinata paused to let that much sink in. "Eventually we got bored just training and began to go on missions with Itachi, until we could hold our own against anyone we faced. We are Konagakure's Team Kitsune."

That shocked Team 7's kunoichi. "What!"

"Ojiji sent us to the Academy in order to get better acquainted with other children our age." Naruto stated.

"Ojiji?"

"Hokage-sama."

"Oh." For some reason the disrespectful name Naruto called the Sandaime didn't seem so disrespectful when he said it.

"We've had more combat missions than any other team in Konoha's history, and we haven't failed a single one. We've worked hard outside of the academy to keep up with all the mission demands and training. You need to understand that there are only ten or fifteen people in all of Konoha who know who we really are."

"We trust you, Sakura." Sasuke smiled at her. "You probably would have figured it out eventually, but it would not have been plesent to realize that we were keeping secrets from you."

Sakura seemingly retreated into her mind long enough to bore Naruto, which we all know is not a good thing to have on hand. "I think we broke her." Naruto declared as he poked her forehead. "Hey, Hinata-chan, can you fix her with your green ninjutsu stuff?"

"SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP!" Hinata punched Naruto into a tree, creating a Naruto-shaped indent. Cowed, the blonde followed the scary female's instructions and quietly sulked under the tree he had hit. "Sakura, you may not be at their level, but Sasuke and Naruto don't care. You are their teammate, and with the amount of training they've put into you, you'll become a chuunin this exam without a doubt.

"It's not like it would be fair to you if we simply left you in the dust and ignored our teammate." Naruto mumbled from the tree. A Byakugan enhanced glare shut him up and kept him from moving.

"Kakashi might be stupid and lazy at times, but he was right when he said that those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash." Sasuke said. "We are all teammates and to leave one behind is a sin that none of us would live with. We would rather die than let someone we cared about suffer when we can stop it."

Sakura didn't even hint that she had heard anything that Team Kitsune was telling her, but somewhere in the recesses of her mind, she heard, and her brain started to re-boot. "You did put a lot of effort into me. You also made it so that Kakashi focused on me for training, rather than you two. He just gave you jutsus to master, but worked me to the bone, and then you two worked me even harder." She wiped a tear from her cheek. "Thank you."

XXX

The four Konoha genin came back to find the Kyuubi sitting on top of an unconscious Kiba. "Kyu-chan, what did you do?"

"She didn't find Kiba-kun's statements to her liking and took matters into her own hands." Shino explained as he greeted Hinata and a red-eyed Sakura. Naruto picked up the demon fox and wrapped her around his neck, while Sasuke used some of Kiba's hair and a low-powered katon ninjutsu to create an impromptu smelling salt to revitalize the Inuzuka clan member.

"YOI!" Kiba shot up to his feet and took an aggressive stance. "WHAT GIVES BURNING MY HAIR!"

"You're up." Sasuke replied simply, turning around to talk with the rest of the group.

"Hey! Don't ignore me, dammit!" Kiba growled. "Where's that talking fox? She's going to pay!"

"You want to challenge a summon with the power of several boss summons to a one on one fight?" Naruto looked at Kiba as if he was crazy. "I must admit; I wasn't expecting you to so vastly underestimate Kyu-chan's strength. Aren't Inuzukas supposed to be good trackers and chakra sensors?"

"Aburame and Hyuuga are Konoha's chakra sensor specialists, Naruto." Hinata replied. "Mutts are only good for tracking smells which can be wiped away."

"Hey! No fair, aren't teammates supposed to stick together? Team 8!" Kiba cried out.

"Yes, but if one is out of line, he has to be put back in line." Hinata stated. "Are you out of line?" She asked dangerously, promising pain and torture should he answer wrong.

"Not any more…" Kiba submitted temporarily to Hinata's evil eye stare. Her eyes were just plain freaky man!

"Shall we continue?" Shino prompted the group. "We need to get our scrolls."

"Taken care of." Naruto grinned as he produced an earth and heaven scroll. "We need the earth, do you need the heaven, or do we need to get another earth?"

"Looks like both of our teams have the scrolls we need." Hinata stated. "We should get to the tower."

"Removing ourselves from danger as soon as possible is a logical decision." Shino stated with his ever-monotone voice.

"We'll set up camp around the tower and trap it to kingdom come." Naruto grinned at Sasuke's words. Traps were right up his alley. "If we defend the tower from other teams, we will have less competition later in the tournament, which will only help us."

"That is logical, but will tire us out unnecessarily for whatever is next." Shino replied.

"Not if we let the strong ones through which would take a lot of effort to stop." Naruto amended. "The Suna team are probably mid chuunin level, but the red head is easily giving off jounin amounts of chakra when we were around him."

"So should we take out teams as we go, or focus on trapping the tower?" Sakura asked, hesitant to fight lots of opponents before composing herself better. Emotions could help of hurt a shinobi's ability to perform in combat, hence the rules banning emotions in a shinobi. However, having emotions like anger could help focus her and bring her full potential out. The chaotic mess floating around in her head at the moment would wreck her chakra control and limit how well she could fight. If she could compose herself, then she would be near 100 percent.

"I wanna get trapping!" Naruto raised his hand as if he was in class and Iruka-sensei was ready to throw an eraser at his head. "If I have enough time, no one will be able to get into our minefield. We can leave and easily defended lane where people will have to get past us to get to the tower. That would allow us to control who gets in more easily than making a moat of traps."

"We could let other Konoha teams in." Sakura suggested. "It would make Konoha look better if there were predominantly konoha shinobi in the finals."

"Why bother with the traps?" Kiba asked, grinning. "Akamaru and I can hunt them down and then we take their scrolls." His suggestion was pretty damn ingenious, he thought.

"That would require us to expend energy to find them." Sasuke replied. "It would also allow other teams to slip into the tower behind our backs and beyond our reach. On both counts it is a worse idea than our current plan."

XXX

Teams 7 and 8 were jumping from tree to tree with the grace that only a Konoha shinobi could hope to acquire in their forest environment.

"We got incoming!" Sakura shouted, as she sensed a massive chakra signature moving on an intercept course with them. "Four o'clock, twenty seconds!"

"Shit." Sasuke stopped in sync with Naruto. "Orochimaru."

XXX

**DUN DUN DUN DUUUNNNNN!**

**The Snake is back! What will happen to the poor ickle genin in the forest? Find out next time!**

**Thanks for reading, now Review! Review I say!**

**~CyberViper42~**


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